THE DOCTOR IN BULGARIA AS AN INTELLECTUAL FIGURE DURING THE NATIONAL RENAISSANCE AND TODAY

Abstract

The figure of the intellectual in European history has taken on different meanings over the years and has been involved in society in various ways. In the 19th century, the intellectual was someone with a strong public voice an educated person who spoke on behalf of those who could not, and whose civil rights he was duty bound to defend. The 20th century was dubbed by the French historian Michel Winock “the century of the intellectuals,” when they began to actively engage in the daily discourse on various issues and their numbers grew. Today, in the age of the digital revolution, we are already asking: do intellectuals and doctors in this role even exist, and are they necessary?
Purpose: To define the doctor as an intellectual through their participation in various public spheres, important during the Renaissance but also today.
Methodology: An original and anonymous survey was conducted among physicians and medical residents (n = 507). The study examined the manifestations of the physician as an intellectual and his connection to Renaissance ideals. To achieve this objective, the following methods were used: the documentary method (study of archives and documents); the sociological method (survey); and the mathematical statistical method (frequency analysis of quantitative and qualitative variables, variance analysis, correlation analysis, graphical analysis, etc.)
Results: Based on the survey we conducted, we found that factors related to the social role and responsibility of doctors received the highest approval ratings. The survey results show that, according to the vast majority of respondents, doctors are part of the intellectual elite primarily because of the social significance of their profession. We have examined which ideals of the Renaissance era doctors are also causes for the modern doctor. Among the provided response options, the highest support was given to “a better organized hospital system” (73.2%) and “better public health” (69.4%) received the highest support, which underscores that modern respondents perceive the doctor’s mission not only as an individual endeavor but also as a social responsibility for healthcare infrastructure and prevention. These two elements form the solid foundation of high quality modern healthcare.
Conclusions: Today, a doctor is an intellectual if they fulfill more than one public role, much like their predecessors from the Renaissance, choosing not to remain silent.