CFP: Philosophy & Medicine

“Philosophy & Medicine”

Keynote Speaker: Rosamond Rhodes

Professor of Philosophy
CUNY Graduate Center
Mount Sinai School of Medicine

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act has brought the philosophical investigation of medicine and the medical profession into the public consciousness. Popular media and the general public are now asking important philosophical questions – Do citizens have a right to healthcare? If so, what role does the state have in fulfilling that right? Should employers/insurance companies be required to cover morally contentious medical devices and treatments?

The Affordable Care Act has also reinvigorated the investigation of classic questions in medicine and philosophy – What is the proper relationship between a patient and physician? Should physicians be able to refuse to provide a treatment on moral grounds?

Finally, the philosophical investigation of medicine includes ontological and epistemic questions – How much should a physician rely on her “intuition” as compared to evidence from clinical trials? What makes a ‘drug’ a ‘drug’ as opposed to some other category, such as food? What is the ontological status of (partially-)implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers?

Submission Guidelines

We invite submissions from graduate students related to the above concerns and other issues in the philosophy of medicine, broadly construed. Submissions should be no longer than 4,000 words (not including notes), prepared for blind review, and accompanied by a separate cover page that includes the paper title, your name, contact information and university affiliation.

Please direct all submissions or queries to the workshop organizers at

[email protected]

Submission Deadline: October 1st, 2014