Unit information: The Philosophy and History of Medicine in 2008/09

Unit name	The Philosophy and History of Medicine
Unit code	PHIL30082
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Bird
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Philosophy
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit is designed to introduce some of the key elements of the philosophy of medicine in their historical context. It focuses particularly on the philosophy of medical science through the ages. Topics may include: Greek medical thinking, Galenic theories of the Renaissance, the upheavals of the 19th century; and contemporary debate on holism and reductionism. Additionally it looks at the putative relationships of soul, mind, emotion, brain and illness. Given the scope of this field, teaching will largely be through specific case studies and topics, such as the Hippocratic Oath, the Four Humours, the emergence of the medical profession in the 19th century, medical reasoning, the limits of statistical inference and the insights of complexity theory.

Aims:

The aim of this unit is to introduce some key elements of the philosophy of medicine in their historical context. Its particular focus is the philosophy of medical science and its historical evolution and also the philosophy of mind, particularly in relation to neural science. The unit will serve to enhance students philosophical skills, including critical thinking and analytical reasoning. The aim is to develop students with enhanced awareness of the epistemological and historical basis of medical thought who will in turn be able to question constructively the assumptions of contemporary medical science.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The Unit is structured around five broad learning themes each of which will be explored using one or more sub-topics or specific case studies. The student completing this unit should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following themes  particularly with reference to the cited case studies and examples (which will be drawn upon selectively and augmented by the Unit director).

1. Classical medical thought  how Greek and Roman physicians viewed the medical universe and constructed knowledge about it.

• The Hippocratic tradition

• Galenic medicine in the renaissance

2. The Nineteenth Century  a century of huge change in the institutions and scientific basic of medicine.

• Semmelweis and Lister case studies

• Changing disease concepts and the origins of microbiology

• The emergence of the medical profession and the BMA

3. The epistemology of medical science  how medical knowledge is constructed and validated

• logic and reasoning in medicine

• uses and limits of randomized trials and statistical inference in medicine

• fraud in medical research

4. The mind-body question  the relationship between the mind and bodily health and disease and between mind and the physical brain.

• the nature of consciousness

• the placebo effect

• different models of psychiatric illness

• contested diseases like RSI, CFS

5. Reductionism and holism in medical thought

• homeopathy case study

• insights from complexity theory

Teaching Information

• 1 lecture (1hr) per week for one teaching block

• 1 seminar (1hr) per week for one teaching block

Assessment Information

Formative:

• one collaborative presentation

• one mid-term essay

Summative:

• end of year examination

Reading and References

Preliminary:

• S. Okasha Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford)

• R. Porter Blood and Guts (Penguin) [short introduction to the History of Medicine]

core course reading:

• H. Collins and T. Pinch Dr Golem (Chicago)

• Michael Kennedy A brief history of disease, science and medicine: from the ice age to the genome project (Asklepiad Press, 2004)

• Geoffrey Lloyd, Hippocratic Writings (Penguin 1979)

• James Ladyman Understanding Philosophy of Science