Biography as an Art Form: The Story of Helen Flanders Dunbar,M.D., Ph.D., B.D., and Med. Sci. D

Helen Flanders Dunbar (1902–1959) was a physician, medieval and Renaissance scholar, theologian, and founder of the American Psychosomatic Society and its journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Her contributions are not currently well known but deserve recognition from all those involved or interested in the dialogue between medicine and spirituality. This essay explores Dunbar’s personal history and professional achievements. It focuses particular attention on a feminist perspective regarding her life and work. It will conclude with a discussion of how biography, as an art form, transforms both author and audience. This essay was originally presented as the Second Annual J.R. Williams Memorial Lecture on Spirituality and Medicine at the Tulane School of Medicine in fall 2013.     

沃尔夫斯多夫:"苏格拉底对定义的寻求"

从考察柏拉图早期关于定义的对话中苏格拉底寻求定义的方式可知,苏格拉底对定义的评价是通过考察定义与他所承诺的"F-条件"("F"指在对话中苏格拉底与对话者所探讨的各概念变元)的同一性条件的一致性来达到的.在此过程中,他力图确定定义的真值,其方法是通过考察定义与他所相信为真的"F-条件"的一致性.如果一定义与这些条件不一致,那么就可认为这个定义是错的.而苏格拉底对"F-条件"的相信则建立在"自明"、"共同状态"、"经验"或根据这三者所作的"演绎"的基础上.不过,他没有说明他承诺"F-条件"的认识论根据是什么,这在某种程度上可以看做是他对伦理学的认识论问题的回避.他也承认他寻求定义的方式是有局限的.     

Harvey Cushing,M.D., in His World

Harvey Cushing, M.D. (1869–1939), is the acknowledged father of the discipline of neurosurgery who inspired others to join him in this new field. He was a prolific researcher in the area of human growth disturbances. And he was among the most literary of doctors having won the Pulitzer Prize for his two-volume biography of his mentor and teacher William Osler, M.D. A driven man, he both inspired and intimidated others. This essay explores Cushing’s character and background along with his relationship to Osler. It seeks to understand why and how he may be considered a great figure in spite and because of his demanding and often problematic character. It further seeks to place Cushing in the context of the transition of American society and American medicine in the latter decades of the nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth century. Portions of this essay were originally delivered as part of a Grand Rounds presentation for the Department of Neurosurgery at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Center.     

Richard Clarke Cabot, M.D., a unitarian critique

This article is written to correct a historical impression about Richard C. Cabot, one of the founders of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Contrary to the popular understanding that he was a typical Unitarian, the author posits that even though Cabot may have been a typical liberal, in his theology, he was an atypical Unitarian. This article places Cabot in his family and historical contexts, his involvement in CPE, and comments on his theology, noting how this differed from the prevailing Unitarian theology of his day.