Abstract
This chapter advances the debate about decolonizing medicine by proposing a refined version of medical cosmopolitanism as the best approach to understanding and implementing medical decolonization. It sets the foundation for this task by clarifying exactly what it means to decolonize medicine, why it is important to decolonize medicine, and what practical steps can be taken to decolonize medicine. Specific examples of problems pertaining to accommodating alternative healing traditions with mainstream medicine are analyzed and lessons are extracted from these cases. Medical cosmopolitanism is outlined and critically evaluated before the notion of strong objectivity is introduced to improve its epistemic and metaphysical components. This refined version of medical cosmopolitanism is applied to various contemporary medical issues to demonstrate its utility as a guide for medical decolonization.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Medicine |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Pages | 176-195 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780197625866 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780197625835 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2025 |
Keywords
- decolonization
- mainstream medicine
- medical cosmopolitanism
- medical decolonization
- medicine
- strong objectivity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Arts and Humanities