"Knowledge of Life" Summary

Hannah Lapin
8/29/11
Rhetoric of Health

In "Knowledge of Life," Georges Canguilhem analyzes the significance of the words "normal" and "pathological." Canguilhem makes the claim that these concepts are "indispensable" to medical judgment. However, he acknowledges that the term "normal" is incredibly ambiguous. Canguilhem notes that "normal" typically has two meanings. Sometimes, "normal" will "refer to the mean of measurements made of a trait displayed by a species and to the plurality of individuals displaying this trait" (122). "Normal" can also be an "ideal, a positive principle of evaluation in the sense of a prototype or perfect form" (122).

Canguilhem disagrees with the theories of both Bichat and Bernard, and he provides a credible amount of support for his claims. Bichat links irregularity and pathological alteration to vital organization, however Canguilhem believes that when "considering the living being we should treat it as a system of laws or as an organization of properties" (123). He further criticizes that too many scientists "hold the laws of nature to be essentially invariant" (123). Canguilhem also disagrees with how Claude Bernard analyzes reality in relation to individuals. He claims that this is "a somewhat naive misunderstanding of the fact that science's obstacles and objects are one and the same" (124).

Canguilhem discusses the correlation between genetics and Darwinism. He also emphasizes the importance of a person's surroundings, claiming that the living being and the milieu must be studied together. From his many evaluations of others and his own studies, Canguilhem concludes that it is impossible to clearly define the world "normal." He notes, "Nothing can be lacking to a living being once we accept that there are a thousand and one different ways of living" (126). Canguilhem reminds us that what doctors are most interested in is man. He finally concludes that man is only truly healthy "when he is capable of several norms, when he is more than normal" (132).

Works Cited
Canguilhem, Georges. "The Normal and the Pathological." Knowledge of Life. Trans. Stefanos Geroulanos and Daniela Ginsburg. New York: Fordham UP, 2008. 121-133.