Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

The long-standing interaction of philosophy and medicine has assumed to be as follows: great physicians have been also philosophers, so there is a relationship between medicine and philosophy. In this paper, based on philosophical modeling, essentials of interaction for medicine and philosophy are presented. First, brief descriptions of two models of medicine-philosophy interaction are presented: Galen and Avicenna. Then, the distinct and innovative model of Fakhr Razi- that has been seriously neglected- will be descried. Galen believes “The best doctor is also a philosopher (logic and ethics)”. The logic helps physician to provide accurate diagnosis while the physician-patient relationship is regulated by ethics. Avicenna concerns more with the epistemological foundations of medicine, the position of medicine in the classification of knowledge and the importance of theory of medicine. He argues that philosophical debate on fundamental medical concepts is neither useful for medicine nor philosophy. Fakhr Razi's model can be described as Socratic Method, that is, understanding through dialogue based on questions and answers. His book called “Sharh Kulliyyat al-Qanun fi al-Tibb” (Commentary on Canon of Medicine) is philosophical reflection on basic concepts of medicine and It could be considered as of one of the first texts in medical philosophy. The main goal of his philosophical reflections seems to provide a deeper understanding of medical knowledge and its application in practice.