PHIL 241 - Philosophy of Medicine

(3 credits)
Prerequisite: One 100-level, three credit course in philosophy or CRIT 111
Medicine is among the central institutions of our society. The philosophy of medicine explores questions about medical knowledge and medical care. As both a practical discipline and a field of knowledge and research, medicine is awash with theoretical assumptions and value laden concepts. This course probes the aims of medicine, our concepts and theories of health and disease, standards of medical evidence and diagnosis, the patient-physician relationship, and medical research and practice. These all lead to a variety of epistemic, ethical and political questions. We will aim to understand as well as to critically evaluate common conceptions and expert consensus on the status of medical knowledge and the norms of medical care, drawing on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics and political philosophy. Offered alternate years. (CHUM; CWRT)