Curing and healing: Two goals of medicine

Abstract

This chapter will begin by signaling potential problems with the dichotomy between curing and healing. It continues to explore three different ways of thinking about the dichotomy: rational vs. irrational, the meaning of curing and healing as experienced by patients and practitioners, and the relationship between curing and healing in the practice of medical care. It is argued that while the distinction between curing and healing is not a universal one, as it is based on a Western distinction between disease and illness, both curing and healing require taking responsibility for the well-being of the vulnerable patient.