The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception

Perhaps the best of all of Foucault's archaeologies. Many will say they like The History of Madness or The Order of Things, but I say this tops both of them. This and The Archaeology of Knowledge are my two Foucault favs from his pre D

Honestly, I know Foucault is supposed to be an astonishingly brilliant philosopher/historian, but I really don't think this book carries any relevance to the modern-day clinician. The science of medicine has advanced so much since the early nineteenth century that the development of medicine up to that point seems mundane. In addition, Foucault's prose is so unbearably dense it's...more

Honestly, I know Foucault is supposed to be an astonishingly brilliant philosopher/historian, but I really don't think this book carries any relevance to the modern-day clinician. The science of medicine has advanced so much since the early nineteenth century that the development of medicine up to that point seems mundane. In addition, Foucault's prose is so unbearably dense it's like swimming through a mud bog. Incredibly unfriendly reading. Too esoteric to be meaningful to most people that should otherwise be interested it (including me, a surgery resident with interest in medical history, ethics, philosophy, psychology, etc).    hide

Ugh. Important though it may be, it's a beast to read.