History of diseases and stories from patients: history, science and fiction

Abstract

In a previous article (Avila-Pires, 2008) I discussed the possible nature of the bout of
illness that Daniel Defoe described in Robinson Crusoe’s novel. It raised comments
from frustrated readers who expected from me a definite diagnosis. My actual
objective was the analysis of a story of fiction and not of a historical fact. In that
case, the disease was as imaginary as the novel itself. Here, I explore the subject of
historical accounts as opposed to literary fiction. In order to discuss the nature of
historical investigation of diseases of the past, I stress the difference between the
objectivity/reality of pathological lesions and diseases as constructs.