Nordenfelt L
Department of Health and Society, Linköping University, Sweden.
Health Care Anal. 1995 Nov;3(4):290-8. doi: 10.1007/BF02197075.
In this paper I focus on the topic of chronic illness in the context of quality of life. I offer a conceptual explanation of these notions and then try to systematise the various species of suffering connected with chronic illness. Suffering in illness rarely attracts systematic analysis. Part of the reason for this is that the topic is in a way an aspect of common sense. It has an air of self-evidence and seems not to require analysis. However, it is my contention that the nature of human suffering is not at all self-evident. In many ways we know very little about the content and extent of suffering. And, although it may not be sensible to borrow traditional scientific techniques for the study of suffering, we need as much intellectual penetration and rigorous analysis in order to clarify the nature of suffering as for any other scientific investigation. Moreover, there are good reasons for saying that we ought to direct much more of our attention to this humanistic aspect of medicine. We ought to remember that the existence of suffering is one of the main motives, if indeed not the most important motive, for undertaking the medical enterprise.
在本文中，我聚焦于生活质量背景下的慢性病这一主题。我对这些概念给出了一个概念性解释，然后尝试对与慢性病相关的各种痛苦类型进行系统化梳理。疾病中的痛苦很少受到系统分析。部分原因在于，这个主题在某种程度上是常识的一个方面。它有一种不言而喻的意味，似乎不需要分析。然而，我的观点是，人类痛苦的本质绝不是不言而喻的。在很多方面，我们对痛苦的内容和程度了解甚少。而且，尽管借用传统科学技术来研究痛苦可能不明智，但为了阐明痛苦的本质，我们需要与任何其他科学研究一样多的智力洞察和严谨分析。此外，有充分的理由表明，我们应该将更多的注意力转向医学的这一人文层面。我们应该记住，痛苦的存在是从事医疗事业的主要动机之一，如果不是最重要的动机的话。
