Study on the Mind in the Oriental Medicine

한의학의 정신(精神) 개념(槪念)에 대한 연구

  • Kim, Kyung-Shin (Dept. of Oriental Medical Physiology, College of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon University) ;
  • Kang, Jung-Soo (Dept. of Oriental Medical Physiology, College of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon University)
  • 김경신 (대전대학교 한의과대학 한방생리학교실) ;
  • 강정수 (대전대학교 한의과대학 한방생리학교실)
  • Accepted : 2007.11.10
  • Published : 2007.12.31

Abstract

Generally, mind-body medicine is the field of studying neurose or diseases induced to body by psychological cause in a broad sense. It is said that, by definition, the medicine means the field of medicine with psychosomatic disease as its main object of research, and that it aims at utilizing the study of the relationship between mind and diseases to diagnoses and therapy of many physical diseases. Oriental medicine, the mind is classified into 'O-shin'(五神, five minds) and 'Chil-chung'(七情, seven mental states). O-shin are related to the five viscera each other. The liver contains the soul, the heart does the mind, the spleen does the consciousness, the lungs do the spirit and the kidneys do the will Chil-chung are seven mental states such as joy(喜), rage(怒), anxiety(憂), thinking(思), sorrow(悲), fear(恐) and horror(驚). If these Chil-chung are excessive, they induce physical diseases by hurting the five viscera as well as they cause mental problems. In oriental medicine, five mental is a concept for understanding of man's mental structure. Spirit and body is inseparable relation in oriental medicine. Function of spirit and body is regarded as one in oriental medical physiology. Spirit is the essence of a function which an organism reveal, and it is regarded in the same with life. For this reason, identification spirit with life is special feature of oriental medicine.

Keywords