Thinking with Metaphors in Medicine

While medical language is soaked in metaphor, medicine - that is, medical culture, clinical practice, and medical education - outwardly rejects metaphor for objective, literal scientific language. Arguing that this is a misstep, this book critically considers what embracing the use of metaphors, similes and aphorisms might mean for shaping medical culture, and especially the doctor-patient relationship, in a healthy way. It demonstrates how the landscape of medicine may be reshaped through metaphor shift and is an important work for all those interested in the use of language in medicine.

Alan Bleakley is Emeritus Professor at the University of Plymouth's Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.

Introduction 1. The Recovery of Metaphor in Medicine 2. Metaphors Make a Comeback 3. What Do We Know about Metaphors in Medicine and What Are The Consequences of Resisting Metaphor? 4. Medicine as War and Other Didactic Metaphors 5. Medical Metaphors as Resemblances: 'Food for Thought' 6. Metaphors in Psychiatry 7. Aphorisms: Pocket-sized Medicine 8. Conclusions and Future Directions