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ARTICLE |

The Heritage of Hippocrates

Dwight L. Wilbur, MD
JAMA. 1969;208(5):840-841. doi:10.1001/jama.1969.03160050094010.
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ABSTRACT

A number of years ago, a physician wrote an article for the widely circulated newspaper supplement, "American Weekly." In it he said this:

If a man is good in his heart, then he is an ethical member of any group in society. If he is bad in his heart, he is an unethical member. To me, the ethics of medical practice are as simple as that.

That is a beautiful and uncomplicated explantation of a complex subject, and I am sure thousands of readers must have nodded their heads in total agreement and understanding as they read it. It is my opinion, however, that the statement is not valid. It greatly oversimplifies a matter that has been a major concern of the medical profession for hundreds of generations.

If it were true, men who are good in their hearts —and I think most of them are, in spite of noisy

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