Medicine,
Mind and Adolescence 1997, XII, 1-2
Adolescentology in the 21st Century: Philosophy and Method
Maurizio Bosio
Maurizio Bosio
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Abstract
Adolescence is a particular period of life that has been rather negletted until now by medicine because it is not easily comprehensible and is not deeply involving adults. The peculiarity of adolescence is the sudden coming to the state of consciousness in a symbolic way, often in conditions of inner conflict, of the fundamental answers of life, represented by Love, Truth and Beauty. They are perceived by young people as mysterious and searching presences, or like sorrowful interior dissonances when pseudoreality, hate and ugliness prevail. The perception of the absence of questions about meaning makes necessary and vital their presence. It is impossible, in fact, to live without Love, and if an adolescent doesn't adhere to Truth, he will search for a surrogate of Love and Beauty, often causing suffering to himself and to other people. Who is involved with adolescents and their problems must critically evaluate his/her preparation in cognitive, affective and moral terms. For a medical doctor, particularly, the question about the quality of the relationship with the adolescent is big with consequences because that quality depends on the ethical and epistemological principles that condition the clinical method. Against the biologic pragmatism that dominates contemporary medicine, the choice of the method that looks at the person like "a whole" present in his/her biologic and psychological/existential dimensions, represents a modality to help the adolescent to develop his/her possibilities for coping real life. What happens in the symbolic world of the adolescent, where Love, Truth and Beauty live like real presences waiting for meaningful answers, is indeterminate, not predictable, not deterministically influenced. However, it happens in the opportune moment - the Kairos - and undoubtedly influences the biologic world in an interactionistic way. The experience of this reality gives dignity to medical acts, and allows a healthy alliance with the deep needs of adolescents.
(Paper presented at the First International Congress "The Changing
Family and Child Development", July 1997, University of Calgary,
AB Canada).
Key Words: adolescentology, philosophy, clinical method.
