ŚLĄSKIE STUDIA HISTORYCZNO-TEOLOGICZNE

This paper shows the original humanistic approach toward the patient presented in the writings and in the example of the life of Antoni Kępiński, one of the best Polish psychiatrists of the XX century. In the beginning, the article describes Kępiński´s holistic approach toward the patient who should be treated not as a mere object of natural science. The second part focuses on Kępiński’s original therapeutic method based on axiology which his followers named “corrective axiological experience”. The last part discusses the doctor-patient relationship. According to Kępiński, a doctor should be authentic, and avoid putting on a mask and judging the patient, who is suffering and expecting to be helped.

Pain in Children and Its Therapy – from Bioethical Perspective
The question about the “innocent pain or suffering” has always been present among people. However, it is extremely difficult to answer this question adequately. Moreover, the difficulty intensifies when the question refers to the mystery of suffering in an innocent neonate, an infant or a child. In an attempt to elaborate on such a problematic topic, this paper discusses three following bioethical issues: 1. The biological sense of pain, its definitions and etiology; 2. Pain in children: misconceptions and basic distinctions; 3. The ethical and operational responsibility in the holistic approach to the problem of pain in children.