The philosophy of medicine and its historical background
What is the philosophy of medicine? The topics covered by this seminar series are introduced via their historical roots. We look at methodological debates in the history of medicine, from the origins of comparative trials, the use of placebos, and probabilistic thinking in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the growth of observational and cohort studies in epidemiology in the twentieth century to the birth of the so-called ‘Evidence-Based Medicine’ (EBM) movement in the 1980s.

Core reading: Howick, J. (2011) The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine BMJ Books, Chapters 1-3
Date: 13 October 2015, 16:30 (Tuesday, 1st week, Michaelmas 2015)
Venue: All Souls College, High Street OX1 4AL
Venue Details: Hovenden Room
Speakers: Professor Alexander Bird (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford), Dr Jeremy Howick (Nuffield Dept. of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.)
Organising department: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
Organiser contact email address: jeremy.howick@phc.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Topics in the philosophy of medicine
Topics:
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Dan Richards-Doran