[The art of medicine: an hermeneutical investigation].

Background: The art of medicine can be defined as the art of healing, but what is the art of medicine?, what is its original meaning?, does this meaning guide towards the comprehension of medical tradition in the beginnings of the 21st century?

Objective: To answer the question about the art of medicine, exploring its original meaning to comprehend medical tradition in the beginnings of the 21st century.

Material And Methods: From the point of view of philosophical hermeneutics, the study included four phases: analytical, comprehensive, reconstructive and critical. The categories for analysis were: medical tradition, physis, téchnĕ medical knowledge and practice, limiting-situation.

Results: In recovering medical tradition, phýsis and téchnĕ are unveiled as the elements from which the art of medicine originates. The structure of the art of medicine is analyzed through medical knowledge and practice; the limiting-situation of the patient allows the recovery of medical counsel.

Conclusion: The original meaning of the art of medicine is centered in the idea that the human being should become conscious of his being-in-the-world, a being open to the other. To face his finitude through the medical advice.