Abstract

This is the inauguratory volume of a new series in philosophy and medicine. The papers are the proceedings of the first trans-disciplinary symposium on philosophy and medicine held at the University of Texas Medical Branch, 1974. These essays are uniformly good, and they provide a necessary starting point for anyone wishing to do serious reflection in this area. None make the exaggerated claim that there is a philosophy of medicine, but rather, they take the unique nature of medicine, as the locus of science, practical art, and morality, to be an extraordinarily rich area for philosophical reflection. Thus the assumption is that not only may philosophy serve medicine, but medicine may provide some valuable insights with respect to how philosophy may be done.