Ateneo - UPO

Forms of medical reasoning: induction, diagnostic reasoning, and the role of new technologies in decision-making processes. Explanation in medicine. Data and evidence in medicine: the Evidence-Based Medicine paradigm and its limitations. Contemporary philosophical reflection on health and disease, balancing objectivity and values. Health and Society. Medical error: biases and cognitive aspects.

Stefano Canali, Conoscere la medicina:strumenti filosofici. Carocci 2024, three chapters chosen by the student Other readings posted on DIR.

Conceptual knowledge and skills: Students will be able to distinguish and recognize the main forms of medical reasoning and the associated standards of soundness. They will be able to identify the most common distortions in reasoning and argumentation, the main cognitive biases, and the associated risks of discrimination. They will be equipped to critically address certain topics in contemporary philosophy of medicine, particularly the debate about the concepts of health, illness, treatment, individual and collective well-being, and the role of current data and technologies in medical decision-making.

Fulfillment of the requirements for admission to the degree course.

Lectures; in-class case discussions; presentation and discussion of audio-visual material.

Students are strongly recommended to follow the updates of the course page published on DIR for supplementary readings as well as for the detailed program of the course. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Oral exam consisting of three questions on two chapters of Canali’s textbook, chosen by the student. Answers will be assessed according to the following criteria: correctness, language property, and ability to elaborate independently.

1.Data and evidence in medicine: between representations and relationships. The Evidence-Based Medicine paradigm. The limitations of Evidence-Based Medicine. Different data, different evidence: the study of populations and individuals2. Health, Disease, Society: The philosophical debate on health, disease, well-being, and their determinants. Naturalism and Normativism: Naturalism. Disease and Society. Overmedicalization?3. Diagnosis as Reasoning: Diagnosis as inductive reasoning and its limitations. Diagnosis as probabilistic reasoning. Abductive reasoning. The diagnostic process: medical history, physical examination, diagnostic tests: the role of technology.4. Causes and Explanations in Medicine: From the history of epidemiology to emerging technologies. Monocausal, multifactorial, and probabilistic models. Definitions of “causality”: interventions and mechanisms. Beyond causality? Emerging approaches from big data and artificial intelligence5. Error in Medicine: Bias, Risks, and Values. What is medical error? Bias and the cognitive aspects of medical error . Error and risk in the epistemology of medicine. Stereotypes, gender bias, ageism, and their consequences.

Knowledge of some of the main themes and tools of the philosophy of medicine. Ability to recognize and use them in relation to real cases. Ability to recognize and avoid in professional life some of the major errors in reasoning, argumentation and decision making. Improvement of communication skills.