Art as an instrument to develop a critical approach

MUSSO CG; ENZ PA

ARCHIVOS ARGENTINOS DE PEDIATRIA

SOC ARGENTINA PEDIATRIA

Año: 2016

0325-0075

We continue with our series of articlesregarding Art as an educational tool in medicine,based on the proposal to use art?s symboliclanguage as a teaching resource in health careprofessional training.1This time, we will analyze the nature andversatility of critical approach in light of a poemwritten by the great Fernando Pessoa, using hisheteronym Alexander Search, ?Mania of Doubt?:2«All things unto me are queriesEmerging swiftly from evidence alikeThings are and seem, and nothing bearsThe secret of the life it wearsLearning that the clearer all things revealThe greater mystery they conceal.»A critical approach implies cleverly assessingnot only other people?s work, but particularlyour own, through a self-demanding and persistentperspective so that we give our very best.3 As aresult, practicing such approach translates intobenefits for both patients and physicians, as we willsee below.In a previous article («Art as an instrument tounderstand the difference between disease andhaving a disease»), we analyzed the differencebetween the pathophysiological process that affectsan individual (the sick person) and the theoreticalconstruct developed to interpret it (the disease).4A physician?s critical approach is precisely whatallows them to reduce their margin of error bymeans of a constant reexamination of the accuracyof their interpretations, therefore bringing theirdiagnoses closer to reality and, as a result,bringing their prescriptions closer to therapeuticsuccess.In addition, physicians capable of assessingpotential improvements by admitting their ownArt as an instrument to develop a critical approachand other?s ignorance and errors learn to practicecritical thinking, to learn and unlearn (AlvinToffler), therefore pursuing the only possible pathtowards transformation and professional andspiritual growth.5,6Finally, it must not be forgotten that curiousignorance (James Clerk Maxwell) functions asan engine to look for and acquire knowledge;ultimately, such knowledge consists in gettinganswers that lead to new questions, that is to say,going from ignorance to docta ignoratia (Nicholas ofCusa).7,8To sum up, acquiring a critical approachis critical for an optimal medical and personalpractice and development, and art may be auseful resource to this end. n