Quotes from “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar.
“The words we chose to describe illness are powerful.”
In my opinion, this quote is accurate. There are so many metaphors associated with illness, such as ‘fighter’, ‘battle’, etc… All of these metaphors condense the medical jargon that doctors use, and they form into easy to understand words. I do not think that medical metaphors are meant to be harmful in any way, but it depends on who the person is. It is very important for patients to understand their conditions and what their body is going through, and metaphors allow patients to do that. When you tell a patient that they have cancer, they are going to remember every single word you said, because, at that moment, their whole life changed. You could say, “cancer is like a war” or “cancer is like a virus” and the patient is going to have two completely different thoughts on what cancer is like. Medical metaphors do need to be thoughtfully put together so the patient does not get scared, offended, or depressed, because metaphors DO have the power to change ones mind.
“Metaphors are a fundamental mechanism through which our minds conceptualize the world around us, especially in the face of complexity.”
This quote also supports Khullar’s argument. “…in the face of complexity”, is symbolizing cancer, or a disease. He is saying that metaphors are needed in order for our brains to grasp what is going on inside of our bodies, and they allow you to understand that without having your doctorate degree. This statement is his definition of a metaphor and its purpose.
“Indeed, it seems strange that the language of healing remains so interwoven with the language of warfare…”
This quote complicates Khullar’s claim. Every persuasive document has to have a counterclaim, and I believe this statement is. This statement I can not put an answer to because it does seem extremely strange. Who came up with the idea of relating diseases with warfare? Personally, I don’t think that it means harm to any patient or a patient’s family, but it is supposed to help them interpret the disease. Khullar’s argument in this article is hard to identify. He has 2-3 pages supporting using medical metaphors, then 1-2 paragraphs not supporting it. But towards the end, he states that he remains neutral, and he is able to see both sides of this argument.
Quote from “Metaphorically Speaking” by James Geary.
“Whenever we solve a problem or make a discovery, we compare what we know with what we don’t know.”
This quote supports Khullar’s document. Geary is implying that when there is a problem or a discovery made, we use metaphors to clear the fog. When a patient gets diagnosed with cancer, doctors use a word that patients are familiar with, and compare it to words that they aren’t familiar with. This helps them see the good and bad. The problem is the disease, and the comparison is telling the patient the next steps.
Quote from “See Through Words” by Michael Erard
“They’re meant to make someone realize that they’ve only been looking at one side of things.”
This quote complicates Khullar’s idea of a metaphor. I think that Khullar has an opposing idea of a metaphor because he is a doctor and he uses metaphors on the daily, while Erard just creates them. I agree with both concepts of metaphors, but Khullar uses them differently then Erard.
I really like the quote that you chose from Geary. It connects really well to using metaphors in medicine. I thought your point about Khullar claiming he is neutral yet mostly explaining the importance of metaphors in medicine is super interesting and true. He does seem quite biased. I completely agree with you about how important metaphors are when explaining something medical, especially cancer. Connecting back to the quote you used from Geary, whatever metaphor a doctor uses is going to be the patient’s first understanding of their disease. The patient is very vulnerable, and the medical professionals around them have a lot of power and influence over their perspective. Really good job choosing and explaining your quotes. You made great points!
I like the use of questioning the writer and making sure the point that the decision is the patients when it comes to the use of metaphors and understanding the disease.
Great work! You chose an interesting quote from Erard. I’m curious if you think that a metaphor designer would view a new metaphor for cancer as freeing a patient from seeing one side of illness.