[PhilPhys] This Week's Talks - David Barack 11/11 - Neural Doctrines & Jonathan Fuller 11/14 - What’s in a diagnosis? Towards a philosophy of diagnostic medicine

[Center for Phil Sci]

The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh
invites you to join us for this week's lectures. Both lectures will be live
streamed on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
Lunch Time Talk - David Barack - https://dbarack.com/
*Tuesday, November 11th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm*
Join us in person in room 1117 on the 11th floor of the Cathedral of
Learning at the University of Pittsburgh.
This talk will be available online:  Zoom:
https://pitt.zoom.us/j/98752433663

Title: Neural Doctrines
Abstract:
The Neuron Doctrine has long guided neuroscientific research into the
brain’s functioning, both cognitive and otherwise. The Neuron Doctrine
suggests that single neurons functionally contribute to cognition. However,
there are decades of findings about the brain basis of cognition that
involve more than a single neuron or do not involve neurons at all. While
neural phenomena associated with cognition span a wide range of
spatiotemporal scales and types of entities, including neurons,
populations, glia, synapses, ion flows and much more, the Neuron Doctrine
has proved resilient. This is in part because the doctrine proves to be
surprisingly adaptable. In this talk, I state the Neuron Doctrine for
cognition, clarify the sense in which neurons functionally contribute to
cognition, illustrate sufficient conditions for some evidence to count
against the doctrine, and explain the doctrine’s resilience and
adaptability.

*Annual Lecture Series – Jonathan Fuller -*
https://www.hps.pitt.edu/people/jonathan-fuller
*Friday, November 14th @ 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm EST*
Join us in person in room 1008 on the 10th floor of the Cathedral of
Learning at the University of Pittsburgh.  This talk will also be streamed
through Zoom:  https://pitt.zoom.us/j/99923676453.

*Title:  *What’s in a diagnosis? Towards a philosophy of diagnostic medicine

Abstract:

Much contemporary philosophy seeks to answer the question, what is disease?
Yet, more so than ‘disease’ attribution, diagnosis is one of the central
concerns of medicine, and philosophers have only just begun to articulate
and offer answers to problems of medical diagnosis that should be
field-defining for the philosophy of medicine. What is diagnosis? And what
is its purpose? Some have argued that diagnosis aims to causally explain
the ills that bring people to medical attention, as an answer to a ‘why?’
question. I offer an instrumentalist alternative, in which diagnosis is an
answer to a ‘what’s wrong?’ question that seeks to usefully classify
medical conditions to achieve instrumental benefit. Understanding the
nature and aim of diagnosis will allow us to clarify several concepts
currently receiving much-deserved medical and societal attention such as
diagnostic error, diagnostic excellence, and overdiagnosis.



*A reception with light refreshments will follow in The Center on the 11th
floor from 5-6pm.*
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