UT Philosophy Announces a New Minor in Philosophy of Science and Medicine
The Philosophy Department will offer a new Philosophy of Science and Medicine Minor beginning in fall 2024. This minor requires six philosophy courses at the 200 level or above, allowing science, engineering, and pre-professional (such as pre-med.) students to engage with philosophical topics that closely relate to but significantly expand on their majors.
The program will emphasize questions about the relationship between experiments, theories, and scientific practice, addressing:
- Ethical issues in healthcare such as euthanasia, eugenics, human experimentation, and the doctor-patient relationship.
- The objectivity of science, how theories change and how scientific disputes get settled.
- Issues of gender and race in science and medicine.
- The ethics of AI.
- Philosophical perspectives on neuroscience.
- Implications for understanding the nature of disability as part of the human condition.
The minor provides a coherent approach to these and other issues that lie at the intersection of the sciences and the humanities. It also provides an opportunity for science and engineering students to engage with important social, ethical, and theoretical issues in science and medicine that are crucial for training responsible, inquisitive, and enlightened doctors, scientists, and engineers.
The Philosophy of Science and Medicine Minor consists of 18 hours of philosophy courses 200 or above. Students select four courses from a list that includes several new courses:
- Ethics and Technology (new)
- Bioethics
- Philosophy of Science
- Philosophy of Social Science (new)
- Philosophy of Disability (new)
- Intermediate Formal Logic
- Topics in Philosophy of Science, Race, Science, & Medicine (new)
- Feminist Philosophy of Science (new)
They also select any two other philosophy courses at or above the 200-level.