Review Article Volume 17 Issue 5 - 2025

The Compromised Healer: Moral Ambiguity in the Physician's Role Through Literary and Historical Lenses

Julian Ungar-Sargon MD PhD*

Borra College of Health Sciences, Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, USA

*Corresponding Author: Julian Ungar-Sargon MD PhD, Borra College of Health Sciences, Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, USA.
Received: March 18, 2025; Published: April 23, 2025



This article examines the moral ambiguity inherent in the physician's role through comparative analysis of literary narratives and historical events. Drawing on Rumi's parable of the lovesick maiden, Zohar's midrashic teachings on spiritual healing, and the historical reality of medical atrocities during the Holocaust and later in Russia and China' state hospitals, the paper explores how physicians navigate the tension between their healing mandate and potential for harm. The physician archetype emerges as paradoxically capable of both profound healing and devastating destruction, particularly when moral autonomy becomes compromised by external authority or ideological capture. By juxtaposing these disparate traditions and historical contexts, this analysis reveals enduring patterns in the ethical challenges facing healthcare practitioners and offers insights into safeguarding medicine's moral foundations in contemporary practice.

 Keywords: Medical Ethics; Physician Morality; Mystical Narratives; Holocaust Medicine; Rumi; Zohar; Spiritual Healing; Medical Atrocities

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Julian Ungar-Sargon MD PhD. “The Compromised Healer: Moral Ambiguity in the Physician's Role Through Literary and Historical Lenses”. EC Neurology  17.5 (2025): 01-10.