Martti Olavi Siirala - Anthropological Basis

Anthropological Basis

In the tradition of philosophical anthropology man is seen as a unity. No sharp distinction is to be seen between body and soul. Also man is seen as member of his society, believing that one needs contacts to others for his own welfare. Siirala accepted these theses, mostly under the influence of von Weiszäcker.

Siirala saw human illness as meaningful reactions to the patient's life situations, both present and past. Also Siirala considered bodily and mental illnesses as alternative reactions. Mentally ill people he described as placeless, meaning that they have no real place among other men, their acceptance or respect. The origins of these kind of problems Siirala saw as mostly social.

Handling children with problems in speech development in Medicine in Metamorphosis, Siirala's attitude comes clear. Here we can think about the symptom of stuttering. From traditional point of view there is child who tries to speak, but some, probably neurological problem disturbs this process. From Siirala's point it is just that this child stutters, speak this way, and he does this as a total reaction of his whole life situation: 'A child is born into a family and a national and human network that extends across the generations'.