J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)

M. Vida: State-Models (Utopias) and Sociology of Medicine

M. Vida : State-Mo dels (Utopias). 13 written in ancient times and in the Middle Ages as well.

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6 Until the appearence of political science the form of expression meant political novel, but from the 18th century onwards this was followed by independent theories firstly represented by the French Morelly. 1. PLATO AND THE IDEA OF POLITEIA The first important idea about a Utopian society appeared in Plato's philosophy in 429 — 348. B. C. Plato lived at the time of the Peloponnesian War, after Perikles's golden age, when Athens had been threatened by internal struggle and external enemies. Seeing the destruction of his deeply loved town, he investigated the reasons of the events and tried to find a way out. Politeia

3 was written after 409 and its concept was determined by a given social situation. Since Plato saw the main problem in neglect of public matters, therefore he considered to organize properly the public matters as a primary task for creating an ideal state. The purpose of state based on justice was complete satisfaction of necessities by fair management of public matters, by judging controversal problems and defending citizens against external enemies. For the fulfilment of these tasks on one hand a governor's board was needed, on the other the class of warriors, who had been brought up to be unconcerned to the power. Education as an important issue already occupied a central place in Plato's work and this view determined the concept of Utopia in following times, however, here education was confined to physical culture and musical teaching as the base of physical and mental formation. Among the sciences medicine remained in the background, therefore one cannot find an organized system of public health. Physicians were only needed because of the harmful way of life which resulted in diseases. Besides musical teaching, Plato mentioned physical training as well, which protects from deleserious passions i.e. intemporate eating, drinking and idling, and keeps under strict discipline. Socrates, dialogizing with Glaucon, said: **Tĥus we may say that as long as eagerness causes lack of discipline here and illness there, on the other hand austerity results rational self-control and good health when both of music and physical training are concerned."

4 Temporate eating and proper way of life are complementary to each other. The citizens of Plato's state besides the advisable ingestion of cereals and wine, "can get vegetables, like salt, olive2l

b Rézler, Gy.

: Bevezetés a szociológiába. (Introduction to Sociology.) Budapest, 1968. 17 — 23 pp.; see Schumpeter, J. A.

: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York, 1950, 306—311 pp.; Runciman, W. G.

; Social Science and Political Theory. Cambridge, 1965. Used in general summary of Utopias. 3 Zeller: Über die Anachronismen in den Platonischen Gesprächen. Berlin, 1873. - It served as basis, because there are different opinions at the time of writing of this work. 4 Platón Összes művei. 1. köt. Az állam. Ford. Szabó Miklós. (Plato collected works. Vol. 1. The State. Translated by M. Szabó.) Budapest, 1943. - The literary form is not.