The place of the unknown in the Medical Humanities

In the birth and development of the Medical Humanities, literature has played a crucial role, both as an educational resource and as an analytical device. This article proposes an appraisal of this approach by focussing on a model literary situation. Taking the move from Alberto Barrera Tyszka's novel La enfermedad [The illness], the authors identify and explore some of the "places of ignorance" that can emerge in the doctor patient relationship, as potentially in any form of intersubjective encounter. The analysis aims at highlighting the constructive potential of such spaces of not knowing as a positive element to deal with, rather than a mere limitation of our power of intervention. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.