ABSTRACT
Most researchers beaver within a mould of practice but a few are exceptional and break the mould. The three men contributed to the great breakthrough in Paediatric Oncology in the latter half of the twentieth century that led to medical and social revolutions in the care of children with life threatening illnesses. M. Weber’s religious types –the Magician, the Priest and the Prophet– may assist understanding of contemporary social processes in the domain of health and illness. The purveyors of alternative medicine have a role that is not too different from Magicians. Magicians and Priests were a constant presence in ancient societies, whereas Prophets only appeared during times of instability. One could say that Danny Thomas and Donald Pinkel are an unlikely pair of latter day Prophets, but their separate visions aligned in St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Prophets from religious worlds attribute visions to revelations from heavenly beings; but Prophecy is not confined to solutions from the spiritual realm.
