The First Book of Galen’s Treatise “On the doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato”

Abstract

The philosophical and medical importance of Galen's legacy consists primarily of the fact that
he was one of the fi rst ancient thinkers to create a scientifi c method that embodied philosophical
theorizing, supported by the results of empirical research. Galen's empirical methods and synthetic
thinking, based on Hippocrates' principles of rational medicine and Plato's natural-philosophical
ideas, became the basis of his theoretical and practical system and ensured its dominance and the
specifi c character of natural science's development until the scientifi c discoveries of the XVIIth–
XIXth centuries. In relying on empirical methods, demonstrative knowledge and a synthesis of
natural-philosophical fundamentals of rational knowledge, Galen developed a holistic understanding
of the physiological system of the functioning of the human body. This article gives a historical and
philosophical characterization of the fi rst book of Galen's treatise “On the doctrines of Hippocrates
and Plato”. The author also points out that the study of Galen's legacy may be interdisciplinary.
The treatise “On the doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato” is a prime example of how
anatomical dissection and physiological experiments were used to analyze the viability of certain
natural philosophical ideas.