Knowing and Acting in Medicine

The epistemology of medicine is a field of growing interest and importance. These 14 original essays explore the relationship between knowledge and action in medical practice, research, and policy. The collection identifies important challenges to the currently dominant paradigm, which holds up randomized clinical trials and evidence-based medicine as the gold standard for evaluating medical knowledge and practice. Essays examine such issues as the role that intuition and individual experience play in understanding and evaluating clinical reasoning, the proper role of humility in epistemic judgment, and how patients and the public understand and can contribute to medical knowledge. Although predominantly from the US, the contributors have a diverse range of national backgrounds (UK, Canada, France, Australia, Netherlands). Editor Bluhm (Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State Univ.) and most of the contributors are philosophers, but psychiatry, nursing, and medicine are also included. Clearly written and well presented, this volume makes a significant contribution to the field of medical epistemology…. [E]ach essay includes a valuable list of references for further research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. * CHOICE *
Despite the variety of topics, several themes recur throughout the book that deserve attention and are of interest for bioethicists, as well as for many other health officers (doctors, nurses, administrators, policy makers). In fact, the book explores the historical and scientific bases of several hot topics in today’s medicine . . . as well as a comprehensive and up-to-date perspective on the art of medicine. This book . . . provides a conceptual framework for a modern approach to medicine as an art that is respectful of patient perspectives and values, as well as of the various tools of medicine. * Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics *
"The hallmark of great academic work is that it makes difficult and important ideas accessible. Whether you're steeped in the debates about medical epistemology and ethics or coming to the subject anew, this collection has something to say to you. Authors explain, analyse and (crucially) advance current understandings of the problems facing medical practice: a refreshing, serious and significant contribution." -- Michael Loughlin, Professor of Applied Philosophy, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University
This outstanding collection demonstrates that some of the most fascinating and persistent philosophical problems arising in medicine are epistemic, rather than ethical.  Topics range from how research studies are designed to how core medical concepts ought to be defined, and engage issues as wide-ranging as adherence in HIV/AIDS research, vaccine hesitancy, and the care of patients with Ebola." -- Kirstin Borgerson, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dalhousie University
These essays on the epistemology of medicine are at the cutting edge of the field. They explore medical knowledge, broadly construed to include researcher, clinician, patient, and media perspectives. There are several examples of how evidence and values are intertwined in decision making. The collection is of interest to both medical and philosophical audiences. -- Miriam Solomon, Professor of Philosophy, Temple University