Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1991 Dec; 111(30): 3643-6.

[Man as a symbolic animal--symptoms as symbolic interaction]

Nessa J.

Allmennmedisinsk Forskning Ryfylke/Institutt for samfunnsmedisin, Universitetet i Bergen, Hjelmeland.

This is an article about views of human nature. In western medicine man is conceived mainly as a biological being, a mammal. Philosophical-ontological questions about man's nature are answered implicitly in clinical practice. They are not, however, reflected explicitly. In this article it is argued that symptoms are primarily human experience. To understand these experiences and their expressions, it is necessary to understand man as an "animal symbolicum", a term introduced by the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer. Language is the most specific expression of man's symbolic activities, and symptoms are expressed verbally. Speech is part of social interaction--we, as human beings, have "the power of speech". This way of thinking is illustrated by clinical examples, and an alternative medical practice, homeopathy, is analyzed as a special means of symbolic interaction.