Respondia esti mutabor => Winter 2005

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Respondia esti mutabor => Winter 2005

Guy I. Benrubi, M.D.

The German American philosopher, Eugene Rosenstock - Huessy (1888-1973) believed that the Western civilization's concept of how learning can be achieved has evolved through three stages. In the medieval universities, the feeling was that learning could be achieved only through Anselm's Credo ut intelligam, "I believe in order to understand." This focus on faith and dogma was supplanted in the modern universities by the skepticism implied in Descartes' Cogito ergo Sum, "I think therefore I am." Rational empiricism replaced dogma and faith as the basis of learning and understanding, but for Rosenstock-Huessy this was not enough. Rational inquiry had to be complemented by Respondeo esti mutabor, "I respond although I will be changed."

This concept of mutability of rationally derived conclusions has many consequences, but most of all, it states that learning and understanding must be challenged. The challenge will change aspects of the concept, but only through that challenge can we determine whether a concept is true.

We are living in a paradoxical age. On one hand we can argue that we are in an incredibly interconnected and interactive world. The Internet and instantaneous media transmission of current events literally puts the world on our doorstep. But ironically, this electronic communication revolution has made us more atomized. Forty years ago our connections to each other through communal organizations, whether faith based or secular, were dominant factors in our lives. As physicians, our professional organizations, whether specialty or geographically based, were vibrant elements in our professional development. Now our numbers of face-to-face interactions are decreasing daily. We cocoon ourselves in our iPods, our cars with satellite radio, our PCs where we seek the comfort of bookmarked "FAVORITES." Physician organizations are hemorrhaging members.

Medicine is a learning based and understanding based discipline. We have chosen a profession in which we will be continuously students as well as teachers. We will both learn from and teach our mentors, our colleagues and our patients. Unfortunately, however, we have increasingly lost the opportunity to RESPOND. Therefore, we are losing the opportunity to better learn and understand.

We need to once again make our professional organizations vibrant. We need to meet with each other face to face, respond to the challenges that come from our own inquiring minds, in order to meet the challenges that come from without.

I hope to see you all at the annual meeting, and I hope to be challenged and changed by the experience.