[Galen and the refounding of medicine]

The writings of Galen discussed in this article present an outline of the project he devoted his life to. Firstly, the reconstruction of a higher model of medical knowledge, in terms of its epistemological legitimization and its cultural and social role. Galen's refoundation of the epistemological statute of medicine involved increased emphasis on axiomatization, albeit not without disregard to data obtained through experience as a final guarantee. Secondly, the construction of a lay morality, independent of the ties to power or religious constraints. Through anatomy and physiology, Galen was attempting to comprehend the providential notion that governed nature: a powerful ideology set against the uncertainty of philosophers and the propagation of irrationalist religions. From this extreme position, the galenic physician demanded that medicine be not only a general task of ideological and cultural orientation, but also a source of real, particular power over the control of moral behavior and social deviation.