Philosophy of Science and Medicine

Paper 13_3 in the BBS Major Subject History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine

Overview

Lectures are held in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Michaelmas Term

  • Philosophy of the Biomedical Sciences: Concepts and Evidence
    Stephen John (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 1–4)
  • Causality, Laws and Explanation
    Matt Farr (4), Anna Alexandrova (4)
    Wed 12noon (weeks 1–8)

Lent Term

  • Philosophy of Economics
    Anna Alexandrova (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 1–4)
  • Philosophy of Biology
    Tim Lewens (2), Harriett Fagerberg (2)
    Wed 12noon (weeks 1–4)
  • Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Psychiatry
    Matt Farr (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 5–8)

Introduction

This paper provides students with the conceptual tools to explore the epistemological challenges which arise in pursuing medical research. The core lecture series explores some of the philosophical issues which arise in medical research, ranging from the definition of health to the strengths and limitations of Evidence Based Medicine. This close focus is supplemented with study of philosophical issues in neighbouring scientific disciplines, and with a broader grounding in core concepts in the philosophy of science. Students who take this course will gain a unique insight into how medical science relates to other sciences, its strengths and its limitations.

Aims and learning outcomes

  • to acquaint students with fundamental issues in the metaphysics and epistemology of medicine, psychiatry and epidemiology;
  • to provide students with an understanding of the relationship between medicine and other sciences, including biology and cognitive science;
  • to introduce students to the major tools of philosophical analysis;
  • to encourage students to reflect on the ways in which medical knowledge is and ought to be generated.

Lectures

Philosophy of the Biomedical Sciences: Concepts and Evidence

Stephen John (4 lectures, Michaelmas Term)

Medicine is among our most important institutions. Though its aim is practical, medicine is shot through with conceptual commitments and theoretical assumptions, its basic tools rely on causal hypotheses supported to varying degrees by inductive inferences, and medical research is developed in a complex political and economic nexus. Thus medicine is a prime subject for philosophical analysis. This four-week sequence of lectures will examine conceptual, normative, epistemological, methodological, metaphysical and political questions underlying medicine and medical science.

Causality, Laws and Explanation

Matt Farr, Anna Alexandrova (8 lectures, Michaelmas Term)

How do scientific theories explain the world? These lectures examine the nature of causality and laws of nature, central notions within scientific theories, and consider different philosophical accounts of what they are, and the role they play in explaining and understanding phenomena. Specifying exactly what causality and laws of nature are has proven difficult, and we will consider a range of foundational philosophical questions, such as: is the world fundamentally causal? Are laws of nature merely useful descriptions of what actually happens in the world? And do good scientific theories need to be explanatory?

Philosophy of Economics

Anna Alexandrova (4 lectures, Lent Term)

Economics is to some 'the dismal science' and to others 'the queen of social sciences'. But before it can be either criticised or defended it should be understood. The guiding question of this course is what sort of science is economics? We explore the key project of contemporary economics – model-building. These models aim at providing explanation and understanding of social phenomena by means of simple models, typically involving ideally rational agents. Can such models provide explanations despite their apparent falsity? If so, how? If not, what else are these models good for? We will also use philosophy of science to evaluate the recent movements in economics known as 'the empirical turn' and the demand for pluralism.

Philosophy of Biology

Tim Lewens, Harriet Fagerberg (4 lectures, Lent Term)

The first two lectures in this series focus on biological functions, the second two focus on the related topic of 'Universal Darwinism'. Biological research is sometimes dedicated to answering questions about the functions of biological traits. For example, are zebra stripes for camouflage, do they instead have the function of deterring biting flies, or do they have some altogether different function? Philosophers of biology have wondered whether function attributions are just claims about what traits as a matter of fact do, or whether they are somehow bound up with ideas of purpose, or design. An influential response – the 'selected effects' account – says that functions are effects which were favoured by natural selection. In the first half of the course, we will critically assess this account of function and consider to what extent the selected effects account can (or should) be applied beyond evolved traits or even beyond biology. In the second half, we will move on from the question of functions to consider the broader prospects for a generalised approach to Darwinism. Universal Darwinism sees selection as a substrate-neutral process that can act on entities of many different kinds – everything from organisms to ecosystems to pieces of cultural know-how. Here, discussion will focus on the concept of cultural selection; that is, the idea that adaptation in humans is often a matter of building up bodies of know-how that are shaped by selection processes acting on information people learn from each other.

Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Psychiatry

Matt Farr (4 lectures, Lent Term)

These lectures survey philosophical problems in the foundations of the cognitive sciences and psychiatry. What is the relation between the mind and body? Should we ascribe mental states to non-human animals or machines, and on what basis? What is the relationship between physical and mental illness? Is there such a thing as a 'normal mind'? And how does society influence concepts of mental disorder? We look at how the disparate fields of philosophy of mind, psychology, cognitive science and psychiatry relate.

Preliminary reading