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Borrowed philosophy: bedside physicalism and the need for a sui generis metaphysic of medicine
Author(s) -
Whatley Shawn D.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/jep.12214
Subject(s) - physicalism , metaphysics , epistemology , humanity , medicine , philosophy , sine qua non , linguistics , theology
The character of medicine has changed over the last 100 years such that medicine is more interested in diseases than the people who suffer from them. Despite notable efforts to address this, the medical humanities do not challenge doctors' fundamental view of the world. Students adopt a metaphysic of physicalism during basic science training that gets carried into medical training. While necessary for medical science, physicalism is insufficient for clinical care. Physicalism offers no foundation for the sine qua non of medicine, the doctor–patient relationship. The character of medicine will not see a renewed interest in humanity until educators address the insufficiency of physicalism for clinical care, and clinicians partner with experts in the humanities to build a sui generis philosophy of medicine.