Abstract
By thinking through the rise and fall of the use of lobotomy, the author would like to think about the meaning of medical technology and the reasons behind the acceptance and avoidance of medical technologies. The possible reasons are considered as the following three factors. The first is the dislike and refusal of medical science to think of the human mind and spirit in the same way as the physical human body. The second is the irreversibility of a procedure. The fact of personality changes that were apparent upon long-term observation became the most important factor leading to the rejection of the use of lobotomy. The third is Muraoka's reference to developments in medicine as "amida kuji" or "the luck of the draw." The advent of antipsychotic drugs led not to a discussion of whether lobotomy was worth keeping or not but instead skipped ahead to the conclusion that lobotomy was no longer necessary. If there is one aspect of the "amida kuji" or "the luck of the draw" that we can rely on it would be that religion, different than medicine or ethics, provides a fruitful perspective on these matters.
