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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2025. Vol 51

How to Make the World Beautiful: Jewish Views on Medicine as Way to Improve the World

Author(s)
N. Yu. Raevskaya, G. V. Solovieva, I. L. Stanislavova, P. I. Ilyichev
Abstract
According to Jewish thought, God intentionally left “space” in the universe for improvement, entrusting humans with the task of enhancing reality. In Judaism, this idea is known as Tikkun Olam, which translates from Hebrew as “repairing the world.” Improvement is seen as achievable primarily through meticulous and universal fulfillment of God's will as outlined in the Torah in the form of commandments. In addition, today Judaism includes in the scope of Tikkun Olam various actions that contribute to the improvement of the life of human society and the life of each individual person. In particular, Jewish philosophers, scientists, and doctors increasingly view medicine (including the development of biomedical technologies) as one of the ways to “perfect the world.” Modern Judaism evaluates medical activity as a contribution to fulfilling the task of “healing the world” entrusted to humans by God. Medicine strives to overcome suffering and death, guided by the idea of mercy, thereby perfecting the world created by God. The range of opinions regarding the relevance of biomedical technologies to the idea of Tikkun Olam is wide and depends on the willingness of different Jewish groups to accept the achievements of modern culture. Overall, even within Orthodox Judaism, the prevailing opinion is that the reasonable use of modern medical technologies changes the world for the better.
About the Authors

Raevskaya Natalya Yurievna, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Bioethics, St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, 2, Litovskaya st., St. Petersburg, 194100, Russian Federation, e-mail: raev.spb@rambler.ru

Solovieva Galina Vasilievna, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Bioethics, St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, 2, Litovskaya st., St. Petersburg, 194100, Russian Federation, e-mail: galeina40@mail.ru

Stanislavova Irina Leonidovna, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Bioethic, St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, 2, Litovskaya st., St. Petersburg, 194100, Russian Federation, e-mail: ira.stanislavova@mail.ru

Ilyichev Pavel Ivanovich, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor of the Department of Humanities and Bioethics, St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, 2, Litovskaya st., St. Petersburg, 194100, Russian Federation, e-mail: ilichevi@yandex.ru

For citation
Raevskaya N.Yu., Solovieva G.V., Stanislavova I.L., Ilyichev P.I. How to Make the World Beautiful: Jewish Views on Medicine as Way to Improve the World. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2025, vol. 51, pp. 126-136. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2025.51.126 (in Russian)
Keywords
Judaism, bioethics, Judaism and bioethics, Jewish medical ethics, Jewish bioethics, Tikkun Olam.
UDC
614.253:296
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2025.51.126
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