The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences.[1] More specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioethics. Philosophy and medicine, both beginning with the ancient Greeks, have had a long history of overlapping ideas. It was not until the nineteenth century that the professionalization of the philosophy of medicine came to be.[2] In the late twentieth century, debates among philosophers and physicians ensued of whether the philosophy of medicine should be considered a field of its own from either philosophy or medicine.[3] A consensus has since been reached that it is in fact a distinct discipline with its set of separate problems and questions. In recent years there have been a variety of university courses,[4][5] journals,[6][7][8][9] books,[10][11][12][13] textbooks[14] and conferences dedicated to the philosophy of medicine.
^Pijush Kanti Bhattacharjee (2014). "Working Philosophy of All Medicines"(PDF). International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Global Technology. 2 (7): 823–827.
^Keekok Lee (2013-02-23). "The Philosophical Foundations of Modern Medicine". Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. 34 (5): 437–440. doi:10.1007/s11017-013-9253-5. S2CID141742194.