The aim of the course is to analyze and discuss philosophical questions about the nature, domain, methods and social role of medicine, thereby generating some understanding of both the nature of philosophical thinking and of medical practices. Some of the questions we will focus on include: What is medicine? What are its goals? What is the nature of medical explanation? How are the concepts of "health" and "disease" to be defined? What is medical reductionism and what are its limits? Are there metaphysical and ideological assumptions in contemporary Western medical theory and if so, should they be avoided? Can we avoid them, and if so, how? Some of the specific topics we will focus on in discussing these general questions include: psychiatry as a branch of medicine, overmedicalization of everyday life, the conceptualization of the human body, gender bias in medical research and practice, medical explanations of human sexuality and gender, the rise of medical authority, and iatrogenesis. Requirements: four short papers and a larger (6-8 pages) final paper. No prerequisites.