SOURCE: Hunter, William. “Your Friendly Neighborhood Neurologist: Dr. Oliver Sacks and the Cultural View of Physicians.” Journal of Popular Culture 28, no. 4 (spring 1995): 93-102.

In the following essay, Hunter analyzes the dichotomy of the nurturing doctor/doctor as authority figure in Sacks's work.

Hold the physician in honor for he is essential to you, and God it was who established his profession. From God, the doctor has his wisdom, thus God's creation work continues without cease. He who is a sinner toward his Maker will be defiant toward his doctor.

(Unknown)

The above lines found on a sampler in a doctor's office in the Midwest (Katon 1) demonstrate a longstanding cultural view of physicians in the United States. Because of the level of education they have completed and their role in the life and death decisions of their patients, doctors have enjoyed a level of trust and respect which has...