33072 - Philosophy of Medicine

Learning outcomes

After completion of this module, students will know the main lines of debate in philosophy and the medical literature about concepts and measures of health and disease, evidence and the hierarchy of evidence, and the role of values in research. They will be able to employ this knowledge to read research papers with a critical stance and to frame notions and methodologies that they will learn in other courses.

Course contents

1. Concepts and models of disease

2. Concepts of health and well-being and their role in healthcare models and in research

3. Concepts of explanation and evidence in medicine

4. Focus on explanation and evidence in clinical research

Readings/Bibliography

Required:

For the exam you should study the lecture notes as well as any additional articles or sections of articles that may have been discussed in class and are mentioned in the class notes. After every lesson, all of the materials are uploaded to Virtuale.

Optional:

Lalumera, E. (2021) Medicina e metodo sperimentale. Bologna: Esculapio.

Stegenga, J (2021) Curare e prendersi cura. Introduzione alla filosofia della medicina. Arezzo: Aboca

Lalumera, E. (2023) Stare bene. Un'analisi filosofica. Bologna: il Mulino.

Teaching methods

Traditional classes. Open discussions.

Assessment methods

Written test with open and closed questions on the topics of the 3 modules of the integrated course. Final grade is pass/fail.

Teaching tools

Power points, articles and videos available on Virtuale

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Lalumera