This is the first book to analyse and systematise all the general ideas of medicine, particularly the philosophical ones, which are usually overlooked. Rather than focusing on one or two points - usually disease and clinical research - this book examines all the most salient aspects of biomedical research and practice: the nature of disease; the logic of diagnosis; drug discovery and design; the design of laboratory and clinical trials; the creation of therapies and the design of protocols; the moral duties and rights of doctors and patients; the distinctive features of scientific medicine and medical charlatanry; the unique combination of basic and translational research; the place of doctors and nurses in society; the task of the sociology of medicine; and the need for universal health insurance. Health professionals, medical enthusiasts and philosophers will find this thought-provoking book very useful in their work and research.
Reviews
Professor Bunge masterfully argues that doctors, whether they are aware of it or not, operate within the context of a philosophical framework, perfectly presented in this text, influenced by centuries of thought. I widely recommend this enriching and provocative book ". – Bradley L Schlaggar, A Ernest and Jane G Stein Professor of Developmental Neurology, Washington University in St Louis
"This is, in my opinion, an unusual and much-needed book. It is unusual because medicine is rarely a topic that philosophers, leaving aside medical ethics, have touched at all. And it is much needed because the broader and more comprehensive contextualisation that philosophers ( should) bring to any topic is woefully absent from today's discussions of medical issues ... Bunge brings to his approach to the subject knowledge of a wide range of relevant literature on medical issues and his extensive philosophical knowledge, and as a philosopher of science this allows him to offer exceptionally valuable insights and information in his discussions. His book is a clear and convincing approach to the underlying issues. I enthusiastically recommend the publication of this highly informative book. " –Nicholas Rescher, distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh