Bibliography

The intersection between philosophy and medicine is a rich and fascinating field. Here is a detailed bibliography of works that explore these links, with particular attention to different perspectives and periods. We have tried to cover a range of topics from medical ethics to philosophy of mind to the history of concepts.

Fundamental and Classic Works :

• Hippocrates, The Hippocratic Oath and other medical texts: Although not pure philosophy, the Hippocratic writings lay the foundations of Western medical ethics and already question the nature of illness and care.

• Plato, The Timaeus : This Platonic dialogue contains important reflections on the body, the soul and their interaction, as well as on the nature of health and illness in a cosmological framework.

• Aristotle, On the Soul : Although primarily a treatise on psychology, this work deals with the nature of the soul (or spirit) and its relationship with the body, concepts that are crucial to understanding medicine.

• Galen, Selected Works : Galen's writings dominated medical thought for centuries and contain philosophical elements on physiology, pathology and the medical method.

• Michel de Montaigne, Essais (especially «On Experience»): Montaigne offers personal and philosophical reflections on illness, death and the role of the doctor, from a humanist perspective.

Contemporary and Thematic Books :

• Albert Schweitzer, Civilisation and Ethics : Although broader than medicine, Schweitzer's ethic of «respect for life» has had a profound influence on bioethics.

• Georges Canguilhem, The Normal and the Pathological : A classic in the philosophy of science and medicine, exploring the nature of the concepts of normality and pathology, and their historical and normative dimensions.

• Michel Foucault, Birth of the clinic : An archaeology of the medical gaze: Foucault analyses the historical development of the medical gaze and the constitution of the object of modern medicine.

• Hans Jonas, The Responsibility Principle: Ethics for a technological civilisation: Although it does not deal solely with medicine, this book lays essential philosophical foundations for the ethics of biomedical technologies and future issues.

• H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr, The Foundations of Bioethics: An influential work in the field of bioethics, offering a philosophical framework for addressing moral dilemmas in medicine.

• Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics: A reference manual on bioethics, presenting the four fundamental principles (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice).

• Arthur Kleinman, The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition : An anthropologist and psychiatrist who explores the subjective dimension of illness and the importance of the patient's story.

• Jocelyn Benoist, Meaning and Existence: Philosophy of Medicine: A contemporary philosophical exploration of the fundamental concepts of medicine, such as health, disease, diagnosis and treatment.

• Various authors, Histoire de la pensée médicale (several works exist with this title) : These books trace the development of medical ideas, putting them into a philosophical and social context.

Specific works on themes such as :

• The philosophy of mind and psychiatry (e.g. the works of Karl Jaspers, Thomas Szasz, or contemporary works on consciousness and mental disorders).

• The philosophy of care (e.g. the work of Carol Gilligan, Nel Noddings).

• The philosophy of death and dying (e.g. the writings of Epicurus, Montaigne, or contemporary works on end-of-life care).

• The philosophy of medical technology (exploring the ethical and ontological implications of new technologies).

Academic Journals :

• Journal of Medical Ethics

• Bioethics

• The American Journal of Bioethics

• Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology

• Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics

To find out more (in French) :

• Dominique Lecourt, L'Amérique entre la Bible et le scalpel : Philosophy of medical ethics: An analysis of ethical issues in the United States.

• Didier Folscheid, The politics of life: A philosophical reflection on contemporary biopolitical issues.

• Cynthia Fleury, Care is a humanism: A philosophical perspective on the importance of care in our society.

This bibliography is not exhaustive, but it provides a good starting point for exploring the rich links between philosophy and medicine.