--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cure of many diseases is unknown to…" description: "\"The cure of many diseases is unknown to physicians because they are ignorant of the whole... For the part can never be well unless the whole is well.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg" --- # The cure of many diseases is unknown to physicians because… ![“The cure of many diseases is unknown to physicians because they are ignorant of the whole... For the part can never be well unless the whole is well.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg) > “The cure of many diseases is unknown to physicians because they are ignorant of the whole... For the part can never be well unless the whole is well.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physicians miss cures because they ignore the health of the whole body rather than focusing on parts. **In simple terms:** Ignoring the whole leads to missed cures. Key Takeaway Consider the whole system, not just parts. Themes medicine holism knowledge systemic thinking Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - clinical practice - public health policy - medical education Key Concepts holistic health integrative medicine systems theory Questions to Reflect On - How might a holistic view change treatment? - What parts are overlooked in current practice? A Different Perspective Complex systems can be unpredictable; reductionism has limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Cure Diseases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cure-diseases-945151/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Diseases Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diseases-unknown-2664461/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Physicians Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians-ignorant-2664460/) [Unknown Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown-physicians-1190382/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [The cure of many diseases remains unknown to the physicians of Hellos (Greece) because they do not study the whole person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-cure-of-many-diseases-remains-unknown-to-the-physicians-of-hellos/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [But what is quackery? It is commonly an attempt to cure the diseases of a man by addressing his body alone. There is need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-what-is-quackery-it-is-commonly-an-attempt-to-cure-the-diseases/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We all labour against our own cure, for death is the cure of all diseases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/we-all-labour-against-our-own-cure-for-death-is-the-cure-of-all/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Mike Huckabee says the answer to our problems is to cure all diseases. I guess no one's thought of that before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/mike-huckabee-says-the-answer-to-our-problems-is-to-cure-all-diseases/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [A lot of medicines are not there to cure diseases. That's fine - drugs that keep people alive who wouldn't otherwise be alive are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-roberts/a-lot-of-medicines-are-not-there-to-cure-diseases-that-s-fine-drugs/) [Richard J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-roberts/) > [“Medicine no doubt, has helped us a lot to cure so many diseases, but death still remains an incurable one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehek-bassi/medicine-no-doubt-has-helped-us-a-lot-to-cure-so-many-diseases-but/) [Mehek Bassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehek-bassi/) > [We cannot idealize technology. Technology is only and always the reflection of our own imagination, and its uses must be conditioned by our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-cannot-idealize-technology-technology-is-only-and-always-the/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Great minds struggle to cure diseases so that people may live longer, but only madmen ask why. One lives longer in order that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/great-minds-struggle-to-cure-diseases-so-that-people-may-live-longer/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Amidst all the attention given to the sciences as to how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/amidst-all-the-attention-given-to-the-sciences-as-to-how-they-can/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) > [Many inherited disorders can perpetuate poverty by leading to disabilities that disrupt people's ability to work. In turn, someone's capacity to secure an effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gottlieb/many-inherited-disorders-can-perpetuate-poverty-by-leading-to/) [Scott Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-gottlieb/) > [Laughter boosts the immune system and helps the body fight off disease, cancer cells as well as viral, bacterial and other infections. Being happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patch-adams/laughter-boosts-the-immune-system-and-helps-the-body-fight-off/) [Patch Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patch-adams/) > [I would love to be remembered for ridding the world of disease, but my knowledge of science comes from episodes of 'Nova' and shows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-shor/i-would-love-to-be-remembered-for-ridding-the-world-of-disease-but-my/) [Miriam Shor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-shor/) > [We all labor against our own cure, for death is the cure of all diseases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-labor-against-our-own-cure-for-death-is-the-cure-of-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We know that food is a medicine, perhaps the most powerful drug on the planet with the power to cause or cure most diseases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hyman/we-know-that-food-is-a-medicine-perhaps-the-most-powerful-drug-on-the/) [Mark Hyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hyman/) > [Death is the cure for all diseases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/death-is-the-cure-for-all-diseases/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If she is stupid enough to let you go, you're clever enough not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-she-is-stupid-enough-to-let-you-go-you-re-clever-enough-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Need to go to the pharmacy, because I'm so sick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-matthews/need-to-go-to-the-pharmacy-because-i-m-so-sick/) [Tasha Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-matthews/) > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > ['I Love You' fails to sum up all the memories, smiles, laughs, trials, and tribulations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/i-love-you-fails-to-sum-up-all-the-memories-smiles-laughs-trials-and/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-clever-but-it-s-not-really-at/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed-her-i-her-hand-dropped-from/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [I love clever lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-hayes/i-love-clever-lyrics/) [Walker Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-hayes/) [Browse all 2,116 Clever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The cure of many diseases is unknown to physicians because they are ignorant of the whole... For the part can never be well unless the whole is well.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to-physicians-because-they-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clever" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to-physicians-because-they-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/plato-103_clever_the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to_1882087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cure of many diseases is unknown to physicians because they are ignorant of the whole... For the part…” — Plato", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Plato", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The cure of many diseases is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to-physicians-because-they-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-cure-of-many-diseases-is-unknown-to-physicians-because-they-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```