The structure of "is not...but..."

[NewHopeR]

Does "is not...but..." mean "is not only... but also..."?

Context:

Medicine is not a science, but a profession that encompasses medical science as well as personal, humanistic, and professional attributes.


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Does "Medicine is not a science, but a profession that encompasses medical science as well as personal, humanistic, and professional attributes" mean "Medicine is not only a science, but also a profession that encompasses medical science as well as personal, humanistic, and professional attributes"?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. It means "It is not a science. It is a profession which encompasses medical science as well as ..."

 

[NewHopeR]

No. It means "It is not a science. It is a profession which encompasses medical science as well as ..."

Thanks a lot.
What is the exact definition of "Medicine" here?

 

[5jj]

Definition 2 here.

As we have suggested before, a dictionary is usually the best place to find the meanings of individual words.

 

[NewHopeR]

Definition 2 here.

As we have suggested before, a dictionary is usually the best place to find the meanings of individual words.

Thank you.
Of course I've checked out my dictionary before posting. Nuance, however, is a decisive factor that is sometimes hard to grab.

 

[5jj]

Of course I've checked out my dictionary before posting. Nuance, however, is a decisive factor that is sometimes hard to grab.

It is indeed.

However, you are clearly interested in improving your command of the language. The context of the word often gives a pretty solid clue to which shade of meaning is appropriate. I think you would help your own ability to choose the right meaning if you tried a couple of good dictionaries and selected for yourself the definition you think fits best. You could then post that here for confirmation.

 

[NewHopeR]

No. It means "It is not a science. It is a profession which encompasses medical science as well as ..."

Here we encounter a seemingly logical problem, because "medical science" is "science of medicine": You first claim "medicine is not a science", then claim "medicine mainly includes science of medicine, social science (humanistic attribute)..."

 

[5jj]

No. It means "It is not a science. It is a profession which encompasses medical science as well as ..."

Here we encounter a seemingly logical problem, because "medical science" is "science of medicine": You first claim "medicine is not a science", then claim "medicine mainly includes science of medicine, social science (humanistic attribute)..."

There is no problem here. ems, or rather the writer of the original sentence says that medicine itself is not a science; it encompasses (includes a lot of things) personal, humanistic, and professional attributes in addition to medical science.