PHIL3605: Disease, Diagnosis, and Intervention: Conceptual Issues in Medicine

Contemporary medicine dominates our daily concerns and societal conversation. From insurance coverage to the consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals, the variety of issues and their visibility is patently obvious. However, conceptual issues in medicine, such as what counts as health and disease or what do we mean by "evidence-based" or "precision" medicine, are arguably just as important--if not prior to--many of these other issues. For example, if doctors do not consider something an "official" disease or condition, it is unlikely your insurance company will pay to treat it. Additional conceptual questions include: what role do theories play in medicine? Can scientific experiments be replicated in clinical medicine? Should all medicine be based on evidence? How do we know what causes health or disease? What do advances in neuroscience reveal about the relationship between mind and body, especially with respect to mental health and illness? What properties do physicians measure and why? How does probability and chance enter into medical practice (e.g., diagnosis, therapy, and rehabilitation)?This course is an introduction to these and other related issues in medicine with an emphasis on their diversity and heterogeneity. It is designed for undergraduates across a variety of majors with an interest in these conceptual questions, including but not limited to Animal Science; Anthropology; Biochemistry; Biology, Society and Environment; Chemistry; Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Microbiology; Neuroscience; Physiology; Psychology). No prior knowledge of medicine or philosophy is required; I do not assume that you have any previous exposure to the material we will be covering.Most of the assignments for this course are writing oriented. The goal is to identify, characterize, and critically reflect on the issues raised in our discussions and do this in the medium of writing. At the end of the class you will possess new analytical skills and recognize the value of philosophical investigation into the medical concepts and practices, including its application to your everyday life. Additionally, it is directly relevant to the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills portion of the MCAT.

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