Antonio Karim Lanfranchi is Senior Cardiology Specialist at the University Hospital L. Sacco, Milan.

• Introduction PART I A metapsychology of the doctor’s consciousness 1. The story of Asclepius 2. Alfred Ziegler’s archetypal medicine PART II Medicine and society in our time 1. Modern myths in medicine 2. Narcissus’s mirror 3. The illusory nature of concretism 4. Considerations on courage PART III Life hanging by a thread 1. Illness as an experience of the soul 2. The globalization of medicine: towards an ecological medicine

"Modern Myths and Medical Consumerism considers medicine from a vast perspective, the author being an experienced cardiologist and an analyst with a cosmopolitan background. This clear and deep text analyzes the philosophical roots and archetypal history of medical omnipotence: no other essay has done it before. It is essential reading not only for psychotherapists, medical doctors and patients, but more broadly for anyone interested in the ever growing arrogance of Western technology."Luigi Zoja, author and former President of the International Jungian Association."With the inexorable rise in medical consumerism, and the concomitant increase in the tendency to deny the existence of death, there is an urgent need to examine why this is so. This elegantly composed monograph, written by a percipient cardiologist, is an incisive analysis of the topic. It is an admirable guide to all members of the lay public who are interested in modern-day trends in medical practice." Sir John Meurig Thomas, FRS, FREng, University of Cambridge.