[Physician as a body technician].
"The physician as a technician" is a metaphor for a significant critique of modern medicine. This article approaches some of these critiques. The notion of medicine as an art is sometimes used to remind us of and in praise of the non-technical aspects of medicine. After indicating some difficulties with modern conceptions of medicine as art, I bring in the ancient concept of art, "téchnê", arguing that it avoids some of the difficulties of the modern art concept. Téchnê actually integrates the scientific, technical and normative aspects of medicine and gives a positive interpretation of the claim that the physician has become a technician. The concept provides medicine with a fruitful framework for understanding both technology and philosophy.