Sir: Dr Linklater in his medical. article laments the passing
of a "clear moral code" on which the general practitioner can base his advice to patienVs. and its replacement by a mock psychiatry in which "greed is called idiopathic obesity, guilt is called guilt complex . ." etc. He expresses his concern also about the government's "stamp of official approval on buggery" and the problems of medical advice on extra-marital intercourse when "every pop star's bastard hits the headlines with shameless pride." Dr Linklater has a real point to make In this article, but if his hysterical phraseology is truly indicative of the Prejudices on which he forms his "clear moral code." then one can only sigh with relief that the days of amateur moral advice from doctors are now over. To presume that idiopathic obesity is always euphemistic for greed is equally obtuse as the reverse; a practitioner is scarcely able to offer sensitive and sympathetic advice to. homosexuals if he judges their sex life to be formed of "the emotional tangles and venereal complications that result from that perversion." The prevalence of the diseases and emotional complications he mentions in this connection are in large part due to the brevity of relationships confused and harassed by guilt, social stigma, and the need for secrecy — pressures produced precisely by the attitudes Dr Linklater holds. To express value judgements as carelessly as does this article is not to judge from a position of superior moral viewpoint, but to be an active factor in adding to the problems criticised.
Hugh MacPherson 2 Wenlock Terrace, Fulford Road, York.
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