Sir William Osler and The Humanities
Billy F. Andrews, M.D. Professor and Chairman Emeritus Department of Pediatrics School of Medicine University of Louisville Louisville, KY, U.S.A.
It is an extraordinary privilege to speak on Sir William Osler and The Humanities and to have been invited to do so by Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, an international scholar and Oslerian, who has written several books, many articles and given many presentations on Osler. Dr. Hinohara became an honorary member of the American Osler Society in 1983; I know that he has attended Osler Society meetings in the Untied States, Canada, Great Britain and Japan, and has possibly been in other countries pursuing more knowledge of our great hero, Sir William Osler, and making friends everywhere he has traveled. Also, I wish to thank Shinya Maruya of the Life Planning Center, who has extended so many kindnesses prior to and during my visit to Japan, and especially the Japanese Osler Society, one of the world's largest and most active groups. The memory of Sir William Osler is strong here. As our hero so immeasurably did, when we honor the lives of great men or women, we bring honor to our own lives and we become journeymen in the ephemeral caravan who have benefitted the sick and mankind. I am a brother among you and am immensely honored to share with you some of my lifetime thoughts about Sir William Osler and the humanities.
(Slide)
It was the award from the John P. McGovern Foundation that allowed me to pursue the humanities in medicine in greater depth. Dr. McGovern, an internationally known allergist, philosopher and philanthropist, was also under the aegis of Wilburt C. Davison and is recognized internationally as an Oslerian scholar.
Once, while I was preparing a presentation on "Sir William Osler in Pediatric Perspective," my eldest son asked me an unusual question. "Where do you begin and
