Light as Environment: Medicine, Health, and Values

Journal of Medical Humanities

Volumn 23, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 7-29

  Morris, David B ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO   (United States)

Author keywords

Circadian rhythms; Environment; Light; Rickets; Seasonal affective disorder

Indexed keywords

EID: 52649099585     PISSN: 10413545     EISSN: 15733645     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/A:1013085302589     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Albert Einstein, quoted in Emil Wolf, "Einstein's Researches on the Nature of Light," Optics News 5 (1979): 24.
2. Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century (1983), trans. Angela Davies (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995).
3. Kim Levin, "The Eye of Ra," Light: From Aten to Laser, ed. Thomas B. Hess and John Ashbery (New York: Macmillan, 1969), pp. 11-19.
4. See also Erik Hornung, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light (1995), trans. David Lorton (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999).
5. "There is a light within a man of light, and it lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness" (Gospel of Thomas, quoted in Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels [New York: Vintage Books, 1979], p. 144).
6. See also Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity, 2nd edn. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), pp. 57-58.
7. Jodi Magness, "Illuminating Byzantine Jerusalem: Oil Lamps Shed Light on Early Christian Worship," Biblical Archaeology Review 24, no. 2 (1998): 40-417, 70.
8. owe this reference to Mark M. Cohen, "The Incredible Being of Light," MA thesis, Saint Mary's College of California, 2000.
9. On light in medieval art and architecture, see Patrik Reuterswärd, "What Color Is Divine Light?", in Light, ed. Hess and Ashbery, pp. 109-127. For Milton's invocation of God as Light,
10. see Paradise Lost (1674), III. 1-55.
11. Schivelbusch, Disenchanted Night, pp. 124-25. For subsequent references in the paragraph,
12. see Ruth G. Sikes, "The History of Suntanning: A Love/Hate Affair," Journal of Aesthetic Science 1, no. 2 (1998): 1-7;
13. and Ferenc Morton Szasz, The Day the Sun Rose Twice: The Story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984).
14. Ralph Baierlein, Newton to Einstein: The Trail of Light (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p. 170.
15. Sidney Perkowitz, Empire of Light: A History of Discovery in Science and Art (Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 1996), pp. 19-39. I am deeply indebted to Professor Perkowitz for his assistance (via mail) in helping me understand the physics of light. For two excellent books accessible to non-specialists,
16. see Arthur Zajonic, Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993);
17. and David Park, The Fire Within the Eye: A Historical Essay on the Nature and Meaning of Light (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997).
18. Perkowitz, Empire of Light, p. 184.
19. Eviatar Nevo, Mosaic Evolution of Subterranean Mammals: Regression, Progression, and Global Convergence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).
20. Gustave Geffroy to Claude Monet, quoted in Andrew Forge, Monet (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1995), p. 45.
21. J. Lawson Dick, Rickets (New York: E. B. Treat & Co., 1922), pp. 89-91. Subsequent quotations will be documented within the text.
22. Philippe Hernigou, "Historical Overview of Rickets, Osteomalacia, and Vitamin D," Revue du Rhumatisme (English Edition) 62 (1995): 261-70. Dick in 1922 had judged the vitamin hypothesis to be "a tempting but facile explanation" (p. 435).
23. Warsaw physician Jerdrzej Sniadecki had suggested in 1822 that rickets could be cured by having children exposed to sunlight (Michael F. Holick, "Biologic Effects of Light: Historical and New Perspectives," Biologic Effects of Light 1998: Proceedings of a Symposium, ed. Michael F. Holick and Ernst G. Jung [Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1999], pp. 11-32).
24. nd edn. (Bury [UK]: Federation of Family History Societies, 1998).
25. John N. Ott, Health and Light: The Effects of Natural and Artificial Light on Man and Other Living things (Old Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair Company, 1973);
26. and Michael J. Lillyquist, Sunlight and Health (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1985).
27. J. A. Parrish, "The Scope of Photomedicine," The Science of Photomedicine, ed. James D. Regan and John A. Parrish (New York: Plenum Press, 1982), p. 8.
28. Sue Binkley, The Clockwork Sparrow: Time, Clocks, and Calendars in Biological Organisms (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990);
29. Light and Biological Rhythms in Man, ed. L. Wetterberg (New York: Pergamon Press, 1993);
30. Physiology and Pharmacology of Biological Rhythms, ed. P. H. Redfern and B. Lemmer (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1997);
31. Biological Clocks: Mechanisms and Application, ed. Yvan Touitou (New York: Elsevier, 1998);
32. and Biologic Effects of Light 1998: Proceedings of a Symposium, ed. Michael F. Holick and Ernst G. Jung (Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1999).
33. Robert Y Moore, "The Organization of the Human Circadian Timing System," The Human Hypothalamus in Health and Disease, Progress in Brain Research, vol. 93, ed. D. F. Swaab et al. (New York: Elsevier, 1992), p. 101.
34. Biological Rhythms in Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, ed. Y Touitou and E. Haus (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1994).
35. J. Arendt, D. S. Minors, and J. M. Waterhouse, "Basic Concepts and Implications," Biological Rhythms in Clinical Practice, ed. J. Arendt, D. S. Minors, and J. M. Waterhouse (Boston: Wright, 1989), p. 5.
36. H. J. Lynch, M. H. Deng, and R. J. Wurtman, "Indirect Effects of Light: Ecological and Ethological Considerations," The Medical and Biological Effects of Light, ed. Richard J. Wurtman, Michael J. Baum, and John T. Potts, Jr., Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 453 (New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1985), pp. 231-41.
37. Gregory M. Brown, "Light, Melatonin and the Sleep-Wake Cycle," Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 19 (1994): 345-53.
38. Karen T. Stewart, Benita C. Hayes, and Charmane I. Eastman, "Light Treatment for NASA Shiftworkers," Chronobiology International 12(1995): 141-51.
39. Norman E. Rosenthal et al., "Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Description of the Syndrome and Preliminary Findings With Light Therapy," Archives of General Psychiatry 41 (1984): 72-80. For an authoritative (if now slightly dated) account,
40. nd edn. (New York: Guilford Press, 1992), pp. 551-67.
41. See, for example, Aimee Mayeda and John Nurnberger, Jr., "Melatonin and Circadian Rhythms in Bipolar Mood Disorder," Biological Rhythms, Mood Disorders, Light Therapy, and the Pineal Gland, ed. Mohammad Sham' and Sharon Lee Shafii (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1990), pp. 117-37.
42. See, for example, Daniel F. Kripke et al., "Treatment of Major Depressive Disorders by Bright White Light for 5 Days," Chronobiology and Psychiatric Disorders, ed. Angelos Halaris (New York: Elsevier, 1987), pp. 207-18.
43. Anna Wirz-Justice, "Beginning to See the Light," Archives of General Psychiatry 55 (1998): 861-62.
44. Dan G. Blazer, Ronald C. Kessler, and Marvin S. Swartz, "Epidemiology of Recurrent Major and Minor Depression with a Seasonal Pattern: The National Comorbidity Survey," British Journal of Psychiatry 172 (1998): 164-67.
45. P. Graw et al., "Winter and Summer Outdoor Light Exposure in Women With and Without Seasonal Affective Disorder," Journal of Affective Disorders 56 (1999): 163-69.
46. F. Michael Gloth, III, Wasif Alam, and Bruce Hollis, "Vitamin D vs. Broad Spectrum Phototherapy in the Treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder," Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging 3, no. 1 (1999): 5-7.
47. C. I. Eastman, M. A. Young, and L. F. Fogg, "A Comparison of Two Different Placebo-Controlled SAD Light Treatment Studies," Light and Biological Rhythms in Man, ed. L. Wetterberg (New York: Pergamon Press, 1993), pp. 371-83.
48. Michael Terman, Juian Su Terman, and Donald C. Ross, "A Controlled Trial of Timed Bright Light and Negative Air lonization for Treatment of Winter Depression," Archives of General Psychiatry 55 (1998): 875-82;
49. and Charmane I. Eastman, Michael A. Young, Louis F. Fogg, "Bright Light Treatment of Winter Depression: A Placebo-Controlled Trial," Archives of General Psychiatry 55 (1998): 883-89.
50. See also Seasonal Affective Disorder and Beyond: Light Treatment for SAD and Non-SAD Conditions, ed. Raymond W. Lam (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1998).
51. Alien T. Lansdowne and Stephen C. Provost, "Vitamin Dj Enhances Mood in Healthy Subjects During Winter," Psychopharmacology 135 (1998): 319-23.
52. Constantine G. Lyketsos et al., "A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Bright Light Therapy for Agitated Behaviors in Dementia Patients Residing in Long-Term Care," International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 14 (1999): 520-25.
53. Kathleen M. Beauchemin and Peter Hays, "Sunny Hospital Rooms Expedite Recovery from Severe and Refractory Depressions," Journal of Affective Disorders 40 (1996): 49-51.
54. The Science of Photomedicine, ed. James D. Regan and John A. Parrish (New York: Plenum Press, 1982).
55. Frederick Urbach, "Ultraviolet Radiation and Skin Cancer," Topics in Photomedicine, ed. Kendric C. Smith (New York: Plenum Press, 1984), p. 39.
56. Dallas R. English et al., "Sunlight and Cancer," Cancer Causes and Control 8 (1997): 271-83.
57. See also Avril D. Woodhead, Richard B. Swetlow, and Michiko Tanaka, "Environmental Factors in Nonmelanoma and Melanoma Skin Cancer," Journal of Epidemiology 9, no. 6 (1999): S102-14. Only about ten percent of malignant melanomas show significant evidence of chronic solar skin damage, although there is a recent puzzling worldwide increase in the incidence rates of malignant melanomas.
58. Natalie Angier, "Do Races Differ? Not Really, Genes Show," New York Times, 22 August 2000, www.nytimes.com/archives.
59. Anne B. Britt, "Plant Biology: An Unbearable Beating by Light?", Nature 406 (2000): 30-31 ;
60. and Paul R. Bergstresser, "Immediate and Delayed Effects of UVR on Immune Responses in Skin," Photodamage, ed. Barbara A. Gilchrest (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Science, 1995), pp. 81-99.
61. William K. Stevens, "New Survey Shows Growing Loss of Arctic Atmosphere's Ozone," New York Times, 6 April 2000;
62. Andrew C. Revkin, "Record Ozone Hole Refuels Debate on Climate, New York Times, 10 October 2000;
63. and Andrew C. Revkin, "Scientists Now Acknowledge Role of Humans In Climate Change," New York Times, 26 October 2000, www.nytimes.com/archives.
64. In this paragraph, I closely follow John J. DiGiovanna, "Xeroderma Pigmentosum: A Model of Accelerated Photodamage," Photodamage, ed. Gilchrest, pp. 157-67.
65. Jeff Hecht and Dick Teresi, Laser: Light of a Million Uses (1982;
66. rpt. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1998), p. 6. My account of lasers is indebted to Hecht and Teresi.
67. Particle physicists have generated light pulses (in a so-called superluminal medium) that travel faster than the speed of light (or c)-so that "the peak of the pulse emerges from the medium at an instant earlier than when the peak of the pulse enters"-but they concede that "no actual information, or signal, is transmitted faster than c" (Jon Marangos, "Faster Than a Speeding Photon," Nature 406 [2000]: 243-44).
68. Martin Heidegger, "The Question Concerning Technology" (1954), in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, trans. William Lovitt (New York: Harper & Row, 1977), p. 21.
69. Martin Heidegger, "Building Dwelling Thinking" (1952), in Poetry, Language, Thought, trans. Albert Hofstadter (New York: Harper and Row, 1971), p. 152. Heidegger does not specifically represent the bridge as a technology, although he develops the extended image near the time of his work on technology.
70. Aldo Leopold, "The Land Ethic," A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There (1949; rpt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), pp. 224-25. For one of Leopold's major interpreters,
71. see J. Baird Callicott, In Defense of the Land Ethic: Essays in Environmental Philosophy (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989);
72. and Beyond the Land Ethic: More Essays in Environmental Philosophy (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999).
73. Deborah Zamora Grout, "Access to Sunlight: New Mexico's Solar Rights Act," New Mexico Law Review 10 (Winter 1979-80): 169.
74. John William Gergacz, "Solar Energy Law: Easements of Access to Sunlight," New Mexico Law Review 10 (Winter 1979-80): 167-68.
75. Georgette C. Poindexter, "Light, Air, or Manhattanization?: Communal Aesthetics in Zoning Central City Real Estate Development," Boston University Law Review 78 (1998): 445-506.
76. For information on NELPAG, www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/nelpag.html.
77. Bill Triplett, "Astronomers Fume over Night Light," Nature 405 (2000): 987-88.
78. Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, Healing the Planet: Strategies for Resolving the Environmental Crisis (New York: Addison-Wesley, 1991), p. 8.
79. James Turrell, "Interview by Esa Laaksonen," Architectural Design 68, nos. 7-8 (1997): 76-79.
80. See also the interview with Turrell by Martin Gayford, "Seeing the Light," Modern Painters 13, no. 4 (2000): 26-30.
81. Suzi Gablik, The Reenchantment of Art (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991), pp. 82-83.
82. James Lovelock, The Ages ofGaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth, revised edn. (New York: Norton, 1995), pp. 43-58.
83. Lovelock, The Ages ofGaia, p. 30.
84. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies, 23rd Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904), p. 293.
85. Ruth L. Bunzel, Zuni Ceremonialism (1932; rpt. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1992), p. 511.
86. See also M. W. Stirling, "Concepts of the Sun among American Indians," Smithsonian Report for 1945 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1945), pp. 387-4100.
87. Alan Ereira, The Elder Brothers (1990; rpt. New York: Knopf, 1992), pp. 126-30, 202-203.
88. See also the 1991 feature-length program From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers ' Warning, produced by Alan Ereira for BBC Enterprises (Mystic Fire Video #76247).
89. Also, George C. Brainard, "The Healing Light: Interface of Physics and Biology," in Seasonal Affective Disorder and Beyond: Light Treatment for SAD and Non-SAD Conditions, ed. Raymond L. Lam (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1998), pp. 1-414.