| Unit name | The Philosophy and History of Medicine |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHILM0022 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| 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 |
This unit concerns some of the key elements of the philosophy of medicine in their historical context. It focuses particularly on the philosophy of medicine in through the ages: 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 Elements", the emergence of the medical profession in the 19th Century, medical logic, the limits of statisitical inference and the insights of complexity theory. There will be a lecture and a seminar in each of the twelve weeks of the teaching block.
