CURRENT TRENDS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE |
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| Authors: | Robert Lyman Potter |
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| Institution: | Robert Lyman Potter is a practicing physician who is also engaged in medical and theological education. He is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine for the University of Kansas School of Medicine as well as Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Religion for Central Baptist Theological Seminary, both in Kansas City, Kansas. His office address for the private practice of internal medicine is 8004 Washington Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66112. Dr. Potter is a Ph. D. candidate in religion and psychological studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Material in this paper is derived from his dissertation research. |
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| Abstract: | Abstract. The philosophy of medicine, a developing discipline, is defined as critical reflection on the activity of medicine. The clinical encounter is both its central aspect and the focus for philosophical analysis. The most systematic example of this discipline employs a mixture of empiricism and phenomenology. Systems thought presents an organizing schema by which the philosophy of medicine can move toward a more comprehensive and fundamental analysis of its own agenda, which includes four main topics: understanding the patient-physician interaction, concepts of health and disease, foundations of medical ethics, and the dialogue between medicine and the larger culture. |
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| Keywords: | clinical encounter empiricism phenomenology philosophy of medicine systems analysis |
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