Seeing the Person Beyond the Disease

Moral perception is intimately linked with our style of seeing and the language we use both to reflect our vision and to reflect upon our vision. John F. Murray, md,¹ has written a remarkable chronicle of 28 days in the intensive care unit (ICU) of San Francisco General Hospital, describing the tragedies and precious few triumphs of the inner city ICU. He bears witness to his roles as attending doctor and teacher in the unit and in the process reveals a pervasive style of seeing in the ICU. The book marches through the daily inventory of patients, providing an account of the excesses of highly technical care in the absence of even a modicum of everyday care such as nutrition, hygiene, and shelter. Although the book is written as a daily journal, the style is not the sort of engaged personal account that one expects to find in...