Rishabh B Prasad
Aside from being the co-founder of ACP and a practicing GP, I am the the Co-founder and VC of LLR PCL, a provider company covering 750,000 patients, representing 350 GPs and 90 practices, with a strong track record in managing and delivering large NHS contracts. I am also the director for primary care are Health Education East Midlands, and the lead on regional end-of-life pathways.
My driving ambition is to equip primary care with the ability to manage these changes, and to consistently deliver excellent patient centred care.
Given my own clinical authenticity, combined with in-depth understanding of issues, I can bridge the divide between the stakeholders effectively. This leads to significantly improving outcomes to national-level changes, as well as improving implementation and adaptability.
My driving ambition is to equip primary care with the ability to manage these changes, and to consistently deliver excellent patient centred care.
Given my own clinical authenticity, combined with in-depth understanding of issues, I can bridge the divide between the stakeholders effectively. This leads to significantly improving outcomes to national-level changes, as well as improving implementation and adaptability.
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encourages us to believe that humanism was born and faded in ancient Greece,
then reborn in the renaissance as part of the narrative that includes the
enlightenment and the modern era.
This is only true if we take a very limited view of humanism. In fact, humanist
philosophies that deny the supernatural and emphasise the human have been a
central part of the development of civilisation over the last two thousand years.
This paper unpacks an alternate, more historically accurate and inclusive
history of humanism. In this history, humanism begins in ancient Asia and transmits
to Europe, China, the Middle East, and back to Europe. In each case, there is a clear
point of cultural and conceptual contact, as well as a significant development in the
overall philosophy of humanism.
NOTE: this paper is the first in a series tracing the development of humanist
thought across Eurasia. Subsequent papers detail the development of humanist
spiritual, ethical, legal and professional systems through Buddhist & Taoist Indo-
China, Han China, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice respectively.
Modern humanism is secular and traces itself to the Renaissance through the Enlightenment,
but the real origins of humanism are much further back in history, and are spiritual in nature.
The first verifiable examples of humanist thinkers occurred in around 600BCE, with the thinkers Siddhārtha Gautama and Lao Tzu.These thinkers began the Eurasian tradition of humanism by rejecting notions of divine authority and metaphysical entities other than the universe itself.
In doing so, they outlined a spiritual humanism that is excluded from the prevailing
notions of humanism. This is because the principal strand of contemporary humanism is
secular humanism, which insists that religions have nothing to offer humanism as a philosophy, as exemplified by thinkers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.
This rejection includes belief systems that are tarred with the brush of religion, despite having no gods or metaphysical rules.
In conflating philosophical systems like Buddhism and Daoism with religion, modern humanism weakens itself by ignoring its history. In the first, internal case, putting Buddhism and Daoism in humanism’s history has benefits for internal discussions within humanism, since it forces a critical awareness of a lineage at least as old as many major religions.
Secondly, there is a spiritual aspect that has historically been the most stable form of humanism, but has been lost in the modern era. Perversely, secular humanism often appears inhuman to those who reject the hard scientistic stance, and acknowledging the contributions
of Buddhism and Daoism offers a humanism that fits with, rather than rejecting, their previous models of thought.
NOTE: this paper is the second in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. For an overview and details on how the philosophy developed and
2
was transferred across Eurasia, please see the first paper, which presents a historical overview. Subsequent papers detail the development of humanist ethical, legal and professional systems through Han China, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice.
This paper investigates the ways in which the Confucian ethical system operates as the conceptual predecessor and foundation of modern-day humanist thought, by looking at specific cases of ethical beliefs that were developed at that time and which find analogy so strong as to be identity in modern western thought.
In the same way that Siddhartha Gautama rejected the authoritarian and hierarchical approach of Hinduism, Confucianism succeeded the autocratic nature of legalism as the state philosophy in China. When it became the state philosophy it underwent significant conceptualisation and codification.
In developing its societal approach, Confucianism presents the first codification of humanist ethics. It is unlikely that the commonalities between Confucian thought and the humanist perspective are coincidental, as explored in the first paper in the series.
NOTE: This paper is the third in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. For an overview and details on how the philosophy developed and was transferred across Eurasia, please see the first paper, which present a historical overview. Other papers detail the development of humanist spiritual, legal and professional systems through Buddhist & Taoist Indo-china, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice, respectively and chronologically.
In general, the European common law that prefigures this humanist legal practice is treated as if it were created ex nihilo in the renaissance period. However, this paper will show that many of the facets of common law that have become part of a standard humanist legal and moral tradition originated immediately prior to the renaissance, under the developing system of Islamic jurisprudence under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.
In particular, the Caliphate conception of law includes the concepts of peer review, medical ethics, and the political rights and obligations of rulers and citizens. Many academic precepts were codified at the time, including peer review and the nature of research agendas. Other papers have argued that Islamic law forms the origin of European common law, and this paper presents the idea that the cultural influence of the caliphate extended much more broadly than legal systems themselves, including both academic practice and the figure of the ulema, or jurist, as the model for the renaissance Humanist.
NOTE: this paper is the fourth in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. For an overview and details on how the philosophy developed and was transferred across Eurasia, please see the first paper, which presents a historical overview. Other papers detail the development of humanist spiritual, ethical, and professional systems through Buddhist & Daoist Indo-china, Han China, and modern medical practice, respectively and chronologically.
A good example of this is in medical practice. Following the technocratic paradigm, medicine over the last century or so has become significantly more mechanistic, treating the body as a complex organic machine rather than a holistic entity that includes a mind.
We now find ourselves in a place where both doctors and patients are afraid to talk about the effect their beliefs or backgrounds have on matters of life, death, and everything between in times when their mutual humanity should be embraced.
This paper argues for a more inclusive version of secular humanism, one that is in keeping with the historical trend of humanist cultures and sees itself as an outgrowth of this history, rather than a post-enlightenment rejection of everything before the scientific method.
The most obvious example of this newer, inclusive humanism is in the increasing medical use of mindfulness, which is a secular redescription of Buddhist and Confucian thinking.
NOTE: this paper is the fifth and final in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. Previous papers detail the development of humanist spiritual, ethical, legal and professional systems through Buddhist & Taoist Indo-China, Han China, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice respectively.
encourages us to believe that humanism was born and faded in ancient Greece,
then reborn in the renaissance as part of the narrative that includes the
enlightenment and the modern era.
This is only true if we take a very limited view of humanism. In fact, humanist
philosophies that deny the supernatural and emphasise the human have been a
central part of the development of civilisation over the last two thousand years.
This paper unpacks an alternate, more historically accurate and inclusive
history of humanism. In this history, humanism begins in ancient Asia and transmits
to Europe, China, the Middle East, and back to Europe. In each case, there is a clear
point of cultural and conceptual contact, as well as a significant development in the
overall philosophy of humanism.
NOTE: this paper is the first in a series tracing the development of humanist
thought across Eurasia. Subsequent papers detail the development of humanist
spiritual, ethical, legal and professional systems through Buddhist & Taoist Indo-
China, Han China, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice respectively.
Modern humanism is secular and traces itself to the Renaissance through the Enlightenment,
but the real origins of humanism are much further back in history, and are spiritual in nature.
The first verifiable examples of humanist thinkers occurred in around 600BCE, with the thinkers Siddhārtha Gautama and Lao Tzu.These thinkers began the Eurasian tradition of humanism by rejecting notions of divine authority and metaphysical entities other than the universe itself.
In doing so, they outlined a spiritual humanism that is excluded from the prevailing
notions of humanism. This is because the principal strand of contemporary humanism is
secular humanism, which insists that religions have nothing to offer humanism as a philosophy, as exemplified by thinkers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.
This rejection includes belief systems that are tarred with the brush of religion, despite having no gods or metaphysical rules.
In conflating philosophical systems like Buddhism and Daoism with religion, modern humanism weakens itself by ignoring its history. In the first, internal case, putting Buddhism and Daoism in humanism’s history has benefits for internal discussions within humanism, since it forces a critical awareness of a lineage at least as old as many major religions.
Secondly, there is a spiritual aspect that has historically been the most stable form of humanism, but has been lost in the modern era. Perversely, secular humanism often appears inhuman to those who reject the hard scientistic stance, and acknowledging the contributions
of Buddhism and Daoism offers a humanism that fits with, rather than rejecting, their previous models of thought.
NOTE: this paper is the second in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. For an overview and details on how the philosophy developed and
2
was transferred across Eurasia, please see the first paper, which presents a historical overview. Subsequent papers detail the development of humanist ethical, legal and professional systems through Han China, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice.
This paper investigates the ways in which the Confucian ethical system operates as the conceptual predecessor and foundation of modern-day humanist thought, by looking at specific cases of ethical beliefs that were developed at that time and which find analogy so strong as to be identity in modern western thought.
In the same way that Siddhartha Gautama rejected the authoritarian and hierarchical approach of Hinduism, Confucianism succeeded the autocratic nature of legalism as the state philosophy in China. When it became the state philosophy it underwent significant conceptualisation and codification.
In developing its societal approach, Confucianism presents the first codification of humanist ethics. It is unlikely that the commonalities between Confucian thought and the humanist perspective are coincidental, as explored in the first paper in the series.
NOTE: This paper is the third in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. For an overview and details on how the philosophy developed and was transferred across Eurasia, please see the first paper, which present a historical overview. Other papers detail the development of humanist spiritual, legal and professional systems through Buddhist & Taoist Indo-china, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice, respectively and chronologically.
In general, the European common law that prefigures this humanist legal practice is treated as if it were created ex nihilo in the renaissance period. However, this paper will show that many of the facets of common law that have become part of a standard humanist legal and moral tradition originated immediately prior to the renaissance, under the developing system of Islamic jurisprudence under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.
In particular, the Caliphate conception of law includes the concepts of peer review, medical ethics, and the political rights and obligations of rulers and citizens. Many academic precepts were codified at the time, including peer review and the nature of research agendas. Other papers have argued that Islamic law forms the origin of European common law, and this paper presents the idea that the cultural influence of the caliphate extended much more broadly than legal systems themselves, including both academic practice and the figure of the ulema, or jurist, as the model for the renaissance Humanist.
NOTE: this paper is the fourth in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. For an overview and details on how the philosophy developed and was transferred across Eurasia, please see the first paper, which presents a historical overview. Other papers detail the development of humanist spiritual, ethical, and professional systems through Buddhist & Daoist Indo-china, Han China, and modern medical practice, respectively and chronologically.
A good example of this is in medical practice. Following the technocratic paradigm, medicine over the last century or so has become significantly more mechanistic, treating the body as a complex organic machine rather than a holistic entity that includes a mind.
We now find ourselves in a place where both doctors and patients are afraid to talk about the effect their beliefs or backgrounds have on matters of life, death, and everything between in times when their mutual humanity should be embraced.
This paper argues for a more inclusive version of secular humanism, one that is in keeping with the historical trend of humanist cultures and sees itself as an outgrowth of this history, rather than a post-enlightenment rejection of everything before the scientific method.
The most obvious example of this newer, inclusive humanism is in the increasing medical use of mindfulness, which is a secular redescription of Buddhist and Confucian thinking.
NOTE: this paper is the fifth and final in a series tracing the development of humanist thought across Eurasia. Previous papers detail the development of humanist spiritual, ethical, legal and professional systems through Buddhist & Taoist Indo-China, Han China, Medieval Islam, and modern medical practice respectively.