western medicine and chinese medicine

正巧今天在家吃western medicine养病,在ST上看到一则由kishore mahbubani教授所写的一则名为”take holistic approach to public policy”的专栏,内容主要借western medicine来比喻我国在50年内取得骄人的成就,其实就是因为我们有各种措施能对症下药,同西药般的有效,能头痛医头,脚痛医脚(去除贬义)。但是国家若要更进步,或许是时候带入中医的方法,将整个行政体制视作一个共通holistic的系统进行,吃中药使各部分互相协调运作。

我觉得这段话是最一针见血的:

“when we do a holistic analysis (of our public policies), we have to factor in non-material considerations of ethics and values, as well as social considerations. simply relying on economic principles or on the forces of the market would be incomplete, if not downright wrong. hence, in our public policies, we must give increasing weight to the intangible.”

教育如同上述,西药的治法是头痛医头脚痛医脚药到病除;中药虽非能立竿见影,却或许是十年树木,百年树人之方也。