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 |
The aim of this unit is to introduce some key elements of the philosophy of medicine in their historical context. If you get ill, you are very lucky you live now rather than 200 years ago, when simple infections would often prove fatal, surgery was carried out without pain relief, and almost all illnesses were treated with blood-letting and medicines based on the poisons mercury and antimony. It might appear that current medicine magnificently demonstrates the triumph of applied science. But the truth of this claim is in fact far from obvious. This unit examines some of the philosophical questions arising from the history of the making of modern medicine, from the new hospitals of the French Revolution, through the so-called laboratory revolution of the late-nineteenth century and the golden era of twentieth century medicine to the AIDS pandemic and the growth of the alternative medicine movement.
Questions addressed include:
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.
2. The Nineteenth Century a century of huge change in the institutions and scientific basic of medicine.
3. The epistemology of medical science how medical knowledge is constructed and validated
4. The mind-body question the relationship between the mind and bodily health and disease and between mind and the physical brain.
5. Reductionism and holism in medical thought
Formative: one 2500 word essay designed to test the intended learning outcomes.
Summative: one take-home exam designed to test the intended learning outcomes.
The following books are strongly recommended background reading to the history of medicine and the historiography of medicine: ASS= Arts and Social Science Library. MED= Medical Library (down University Walk)
Porter, R. (1999) The Greatest Benefit to Mankind (Fontana) (ISBN: 0006374549). ASS (R131 POR), MED. Burnham, J. C. (2005) What is Medical History? (Cambridge: Polity) (978-0745632254).
Also recommended (and a very good read) but controversial is:
David Wootton (2007) Bad Medicine: Doctors Doing Harm Since Hippocrates (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
The best book on philosophy of medicine is:
Jeremy Howick (2011) The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford: Wiley–Blackwell)
An interesting, if contentious, introduction to some topics in medical epistemology is:
Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch (2005) Dr. Golem: How to Think about Medicine (London: University of Chicago Press). A useful introduction to key themes in the epistemology of medicine. (ISBN: 0226113663) ASS (RC81 COL ) MED (AA8a COL).