B Plonka-Syroka

Publications of B Plonka-Syroka

• [T.S. Kuhn's methodology and the history of medicine (remarks on the 30th anniversary of the publication of the Polish edition of Kuhn's work)]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Kwartalnik historii nauki i techniki : Kwartal'nyĭ zhurnal istorii nauki i tekhniki -. 02/1998; 43(3-4):37-65.

  Ever since its publication in the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the conception developed by T.S. Kuhn has been the subject of much discussion in the works of philosophers andEver since its publication in the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the conception developed by T.S. Kuhn has been the subject of much discussion in the works of philosophers and historians of science. The present author has attempted to look at Kuhn's conception, as presented in his 1962 book and in a number of additional papers contained in the volume The Essential Tension (Polish translation published in 1985 under the title Dwa bieguny. Tradycja i nowatorstwo w badaniach naukowych), from the point of view of its usefulness in studies on the history of medicine. Among the elements of Kuhn's model which could be used in the historiography of medicine, the author includes the concept of the history of science focused on reconstructing its real history. She discusses Kuhn's research directives and his views on the nature of scientific explanation. She finds Kuhn's concept of a crisis in science to be particularly useful in interpreting the changes in medical thought and practice. The author also believes that historians of medicine could draw in their research on Kuhn's views concerning the problem of choice of theory in scientific communities.

• [Medical theories, doctrines and schools, an outline of the problem]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Kwartalnik historii nauki i techniki : Kwartal'nyĭ zhurnal istorii nauki i tekhniki -. 02/1998; 43(1):51-75.

  The author presents her own proposals for defining such notions as medical theory, medical doctrine and school of medicine. She discusses the extent to which it is possible to make use, in studies onThe author presents her own proposals for defining such notions as medical theory, medical doctrine and school of medicine. She discusses the extent to which it is possible to make use, in studies on medical theories, of the conception of ideals of science, research programmes and the relativistic conception of scientific fact developed by L. Fleck. She presents proposals for a model of medical doctrine, consisting of three levels: the constitutive, the nomothetic and the variational. She also adduces a proposal for research on the reception of the views of schools of medicine using the conception of the strategies of action of scientific communities. The article is a recapitulation of the author's research conducted in the years 1988-1997.

• [The conception of human subjectivity vis-a-vis the basic concepts of theoretical and practical medicine]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Kwartalnik historii nauki i techniki : Kwartal'nyĭ zhurnal istorii nauki i tekhniki -. 02/1998; 43(2):69-80.

  Conceptions of human subjectivity have throughout ages had an impact on the defining the subject-matter of theoretical and practical research in the area of medicine. They have influenced the way theConceptions of human subjectivity have throughout ages had an impact on the defining the subject-matter of theoretical and practical research in the area of medicine. They have influenced the way the patient was perceived in relation to the social and natural environments, and they have also provided the basis upon which diagnostic and therapeutic conceptions could be constructed. The author presents her own proposals for defining such notions as medical theory, medical doctrine and school of medicine. The present study gives an account of the changes in the research agenda of medicine in particular historical epochs in conjunction with the changes in defining human subjectivity as the subject-matter of its research.

• [Romanticism in German medicine in the light of home historiography of 1802-1945]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Medycyna nowozytna : studia nad historia medycyny / Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii Nauki. 02/1998; 5(2):11-54.

  The German non-materialist medicine of the first half of the 19th century is presently a subject of advanced historical studies, carried out in Europe and USA. Until the mid-20th century, however, itThe German non-materialist medicine of the first half of the 19th century is presently a subject of advanced historical studies, carried out in Europe and USA. Until the mid-20th century, however, it was only the German authors who produced literature dedicated to the above-mentioned medicine. The purpose of this study is to present to the Polish reader the main trends in the German medical historiography that have been taking up the subject for 150 years. The historians of German medicine distinguished trends in the post-war period as the studies of the history of their native medical historiography developed. A Polish historian taking up the task of characterizing of the main methodological trends in German medical historiography is faced with the necessity to take position on the findings of German authors who took up the above-mentioned subject earlier. In my studies I worked mainly on the findings of the following authors: Nelly Tsouyopoulos, Urban Wiesing and Hans-Uwe Lammel. They served me as a guide to the old historical-medical literature that I managed to reach in the libraries of Dresden and Leipzig. Some of the German studies (H. Haeser, J. Petersen) were translated to Polish language and in those cases I leaned on the Polish translators. In this study I discuss the following methodological trends in historiography of German medicine of the 1st half of the 19th century: eclectic trends, philosophical trends, positivistic trends, neo-romantic trends, and social-cultural trends. I also present the analysis of theories of the most important representatives of the trends. Thanks to this I could reconstruct the process of shaping of the discussed epoch image in the light of various concepts of its description. As a result different characteristics of the epoch were grasped although the factography level they referred to was common. This study outlines also further developoment of the historiography of the discussed subject in the second half of the 20th century.

• [The problem of reforms in the European medicine between 16th and 19th century in the light of selected concepts of methodology of the history of science]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Medycyna nowozytna : studia nad historia medycyny / Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii Nauki. 02/1997; 4(1-2):5-38.

  The article depicts major concepts present in the contemporary historiography of medicine (positivistic and social-cultural trends) and some of the concepts of modern methodology of the history ofThe article depicts major concepts present in the contemporary historiography of medicine (positivistic and social-cultural trends) and some of the concepts of modern methodology of the history of science, reviewing the possibilities of its use in the analysis of the process of modernizing the European medicine that was implemented between the 16th and the 19th century. The author advocates the social-cultural trend that dominates the contemporary historiography of medicine. She discusses and analyzes the concepts developed by Ludwik Fleck, Samuel Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, Kurt Godl, Stefan Amsterdamski in respect of their sue to a historian of modern medicine.

• [Directions in the theoretical justification of treatment in German medicine of the first half of the 19th century]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Kwartalnik historii nauki i techniki : Kwartal'nyĭ zhurnal istorii nauki i tekhniki -. 02/1997; 42(2):69-86.

  The study presents the contemporary state of research in the historiography of medicine, with regard to the main currents in the theoretical justification of treatment in German medicine of the firstThe study presents the contemporary state of research in the historiography of medicine, with regard to the main currents in the theoretical justification of treatment in German medicine of the first half of the 19th century. Researchers distinguish three main currents: vitalist-eclectic, dynamic, and the current based on the precepts of German philosophy of nature (Naturphilosophie), especially the approach of F. Schelling. The article presents the underlying assumptions of each of the three currents; it presents their main representatives as well. The authors also analyses the background for the reception in Germany of medical theories and doctrines of a non-materialist character, making reference to factors of a socio-cultural nature.

• [The reception of homoeopathy among Polish physicians in the 19th century]

  Authors: B Plonka-Syroka

  Medizin, Gesellschaft, und Geschichte : Jahrbuch des Instituts für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. 02/1997; 16:145-70.

  The 19th century Polish academic community showed a consistently negative attitude towards the Hahnemannian doctrine. On the other hand, homoeopathy spread more and more widely in Polish society.The 19th century Polish academic community showed a consistently negative attitude towards the Hahnemannian doctrine. On the other hand, homoeopathy spread more and more widely in Polish society. Popular homoeopathic journals and advisory literature expressed scepticism towards science and materialism or adopted viewpoints close to spiritualism. Furthermore these publications aimed at linking homoeopathy with traditional religious folklore. Homoeopathic domestic medical literature gave the opportunity for medical self-help at a time when relatively few people had access to professional medical services - due to financial reasons in the cities and due to a lack of physicians in rural areas. Additionally homoepathy offered hope to those whose ailments could not be cured by the professional academic medicine. The reception of homoeopathy in Poland was nevertheless limited. The doctrine was commonly known nowhere near as popular as the medical self-help that derived from what is called traditional "folk medicine". Also homoeopathy never was a serious competitor to the therapeutic arsenal of late 19th century academic medicine.