Galen: The Philosophical Physician

Analyzing the works of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, this paper reveals the specific influences each of the three had upon Galen’s medical practice, asserting that the influence of philosophy was ultimately responsible for distinguishing Galen from his contemporaries. Drawing from various primary sources, including Plato’s “The Apology,” Timaeus and The Republic, as well as Aristotle’s Physics, and comparing them to Galen’s works, “The Art of Medicine” and “A Method of Medicine to Glaucon,” numerous similarities are revealed between the works of Galen and those of the philosophical trio. By evaluating these many connections among the works, as well as using secondary sources to affirm them, the influence of philosophy on Galen’s work is indisputable. Although many would argue that it was Hippocrates who most significantly influenced Galen and his medical practice, this paper asserts that the power trio from Classical Athens- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle- was most responsible for Galen’s success and legacy, lasting for nearly fifteen centuries.