33072 - Philosophy of Medicine

Learning outcomes

After completion of this module, students are able to:

- identify conceptual issues in medical research and clinical practice, such as different concepts of health and disease, the current conception of evidence, the role of values in research

- critically reflect on them

- follow the contemporary debate on key methodological and conceptual issues in the medical literature, and in specialized philosophy journals

 

Course contents

 

This course introduces to the contemporary debate in the philosophy of medicine, and provides the basic notions and competences that enable future doctors to reflect critically on the concepts and methodologies implicit in medical research and clinical practice.

It does not require any preliminary acquaintance with philosophy.

It is recommended for students from the third year on, who have already come into contact with research and clinical issues, but obviously it is not precluded to first-year students.

Themes:

1. Disease

What makes a certain condition a disease or pathology? Normativist and naturalist definitions. The problem of the threshold between disease and risk factors. Controversial diseases: is old age a disease? What about obesity? Other examples from psychiatric nosology. We will see how the concept of disease one adopts affects public health policies, treatment and research.

2. Health

Medicine aims to preserve and restore people's health But what is health? Different concepts of health, from the absence of disease to complete well-being. Well-being, quality of life and other constructs are based both on evidence and on the values of society and the preferences of indivuduals. Again, different concepts of health and well-being determine different policies and models of care.

3. Evidence

What is Evidence-based Medicine? What do we mean by evidence or evidence in medicine? Why is the evidence sorted in a hierarchy, that is, some studies are "better" than others for confirming a hypothesis or answering a clinical question? The concept of cause in medicine. Guidelines and the role of the individual clinician's judgment. More recent critiques and changes to the classic EBM paradigm.

4. Medicine, society and values

What values guide medical research and what interests shape it?. The notion of conflict of interest. Social epistemology of medicine: the role of patients and of the so-called "big Pharma" and private partners. Overdiagnosis and medicalization: is there "too much medicine"? Issues of equitable distribution of resources in healthcare systems.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography: class notes (ppt or pdf files uploaded in Virtuale after each class).

 

If you want to know more: Stegenga, J. (2022) Curare e prendersi cura. Un'introduzione alla filosofia della medicina. Arezzo: Aboca edizioni.

Teaching methods

Traditional classes. Discussion is encouraged.

Assessment methods

Written test with multiple choice questions.

Teaching tools

Traditional classes in presence with ppt presentations. Class notes and optional additional materials, such as videos or articles, will be uploaded in Virtuale each week after class.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Lalumera