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Teaching
I enjoy teaching both history and philosophy of medicine-related subjects. Below are descriptions for recent courses I have taught at the University of Pittsburgh. Syllabi are available on request.
Magic, Medicine, and Science (HPS 515)
Fall 2024
What does it mean for medicine to cure a disease? Why are some drugs considered “magic bullets”? How has medicine historically appealed to magic and the supernatural in explaining disease? Is the aim of today’s precision medicine all that different from that of medieval medicine? In this course, we’ll explore these questions and more by considering the relation between magic, medicine, and science. We’ll examine how medicine developed as a science by reading historical accounts of disease and treatment from before Hippocrates to modern precision medicine, stopping along the way to ask what makes science scientific and how ideas about science, religion, and magic have transformed medicine. This course is of particular interest to anyone curious about medicine, science, history, and/or philosophy. No previous knowledge in these topics will be assumed; students at all levels are encouraged to join.
Mind and Medicine
(HPS 612)
Spring 2025
What’s the difference between a disease and an illness? Is mental illness a disease? Is medicine a science or an art? In this course, we’ll explore these questions and more by way of an entry-level introduction to the fields of philosophy of medicine and philosophy of psychiatry. Through readings, podcasts, lecture, and discussions, we will explore philosophical topics concerning the health professions and health sciences that go beyond traditional bioethical problems, such as: concepts of disease and mental disorder, classification and kinds in medicine and psychiatry, explanation in medicine and psychiatry, medical evidence and evidence-based medicine, antipsychiatry and medical nihilism, and medical AI. Students will come away with an understanding of some of the fundamental philosophical problems underlying science and practice in medicine and psychiatry. This course is of particular interest to anyone curious about medicine, science, and/or philosophy. No previous knowledge in these topics will be assumed; students at all levels are encouraged to join. This course is part of a core sequence leading to certification in the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine Certificate Program and is a companion course to HPS 0613 (Morality and Medicine) but may be taken independently.
Development of Scientific Medicine (HPS 1624)
Fall 2026
How did medicine become a science and what does it mean for it to be one? What counts as a “disease,” and who gets to decide? How have these questions changed through history? Why do certain technologies carry so much authority in today’s medicine? And how have shifting scientific theories, from germ theory to genetic determinism, reshaped what doctors see when they look at the human body? In this course, we’ll explore these questions and more by tracing the development of contemporary scientific medicine. We’ll consider how anatomy, physiology, pathology, and epidemiology emerged as distinct sciences, how new diagnostic and surgical technologies changed what medicine could know and do, and how research methods like clinical trials and biostatistics transformed what counts as evidence. Along the way, we’ll examine the philosophical foundations that have shaped medical thinking. This class will utilize primary historical sources as well as recent secondary sources in the history and philosophy of medicine, including written work, podcasts, and documentaries. This course is accessible for anyone curious about medicine, science, history, or philosophy. No prior background is required; students at all levels are welcome.
Morality and Medicine
(HPS 613)
Spring 2027
Bioethics - coming Spring 2027!