module
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL3122: Philosophy of Medicine
This module descriptor refers to the 2023/4 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content will vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes:
Fundamental concepts and issues:
- Health and disease
- Causation and disease
- Evidence in medicine
- Reductionism and Holism
Medicine with a critical lens:
- Scepticism and “alternative” medicine – A non-Western look at medicine
- Values in biomedical research – The question of objectivity
- Controversial diseases
Medicine in the digital age:
- AI in medicine
- A new dawn? Big Data and the personalisation of medicine
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | See notes for guidance |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 22 | Weekly 2-hour lectures/seminars or 1 hour lecture + 1 hour seminar |
| Guided independent study | 44 | 11x4h Reading and preparation for classes |
| Guided independent study 84 Independent research for written assignments | 84 | Independent research for written assignments |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
- Reiss, Julian and Rachel A. Ankeny, "Philosophy of Medicine", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), forthcoming URL= https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/medicine