Freiburg Philosophicum
A little over 160 years ago, the Philosophicum was replaced by the Physikum as the first intermediate exam for medical students—marking a turning point in medical education. From that point on, the focus shifted to the natural sciences, which increasingly supplanted philosophical reflection on humanity, health, illness, and death. The Freiburg Philosophicum aims to provide a space for these topics once again for all those interested.
The "Freiburg Philosophicum—Thematic Evenings on the Philosophy of Medicine" is driven by the idea of building a bridge between medicine and philosophy. Here, interested individuals from various theoretical and practical disciplines find an open space for reflection where they can engage with fundamental questions about the human condition. By integrating philosophy into medicine, the focus returns to the human being as a whole. At the same time, medicine offers philosophy an opportunity to put theoretical considerations into practice. This interprofessional exchange serves to merge the horizons of both disciplines.
The Philosophicum is an optional event open to anyone interested, regardless of their field of study or profession. During the semester, themed evenings on the philosophy of medicine are held every other Wednesday. Various speakers are invited to present on a topic at the intersection of medicine and philosophy for approximately 45 minutes. This is followed by an interprofessional discussion in which the topics can be explored from various perspectives. It is also possible to attend only individual sessions. Additionally, the event takes place in a hybrid format, allowing for online participation.
Zoom link:
https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/j/63350189218?pwd=cXBQOXI3b3Fyek8vT1ZmVEhoU3RPUT09
Meeting ID: 633 5018 9218
Access code: %ghQ5Q1+b
Schedule for the 2026 Summer Semester
Every Wednesday from 6:15–7:45 p.m.:
🧠 April 22, 2026
Trust in Machines? Medical Responsibility in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (PD Dr. phil. Marcus Knaup, Philosophy, Freiburg)
🏥 May 20, 2026
The Concept of Quality in Medicine – A Contribution from Medical Philosophy (Dr. med. Beat Gerber, General Practice, Wattenwil)
📜 June 24, 2026
From Mortal Sin to Sick Note: Discourses on Melancholy in Transition (Prof. Dr. Magnus Striet, Fundamental Theology and Philosophical Anthropology)
🎨 July 22, 2026
Reverse Graffiti: How the Philosophy of Medicine Reveals the Invisible – The Philosophy of Medicine as a Creative Shift in Perspective (Prof. Dr. Thomas Bohrer, Medicine and Philosophy, Würzburg)
Where? University of Freiburg, Platz der Universität 3, 79098 Freiburg, KG I - HS 1009
Participation: The Freiburg Philosophicum is free of charge and open to all interested parties. Registration is not required.
Online via Zoom:
https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/j/63350189218?pwd=cXBQOXI3b3Fyek8vT1ZmVEhoU3RPUT09
Meeting ID: 633 5018 9218
Access code: %ghQ5Q1+b
The Freiburg Philosophicum was launched in the 2022/23 winter semester as a collaboration between the Institute of General Medicine at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg and the Thales Academy.
Although the idea of combining philosophy and medicine in the form of such an event had been around for some time, it received its final impetus through an exchange with Thomas Bohrer from Würzburg, who founded the Würzburg Philosophicum 14 years ago.
The Freiburg Philosophicum’s events to date have generated significant interest and have already sparked many engaging discussions.
Here is the program for the past semesters:
Paula Linden is a physician and has been working at the Institute of General Medicine at the University Medical Center Freiburg since 2020. She is also pursuing a degree in philosophy, with a particular focus on practical philosophy, especially the intersection of philosophy and medicine.
Miriam Fischer-Geboers is a philosopher who earned her doctorate in the phenomenology of corporeality and directs the part-time advanced training program “CAS Medical Ethics” at the Thales Academy.
Paula Linden
, M.D., physician in advanced training
Elsässer Str. 20 · 79110 Freiburg
Phone: +49 761 270-72652
paula.linden@uniklinik-freiburg.de
In cooperation with: Thales Academy Freiburg (https://www.thales-akademie.de/)
Resources for further reflection and exploration
- Jaspers, K.: The Physician in the Technological Age, Munich 1986
- Ricœur, P.: Autonomy and Vulnerability, in: Ricœur, P.: Le Juste 2, Paris 2001, pp. 85–106.
Coming soon:
- Knaup, Marcus: Integrative Bioethics. Methodological Foundations, Lines of Development, and Practical Applications, Baden-Baden (Karl Alber Publishers) 2026.
Further reading:
- Pfannstiel, M. A. (ed.): Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. Developments, Examples, and Perspectives, Wiesbaden 2022;
- Kaul, V. / Enslin, S. / Gross, S. A.: History of Artificial Intelligence, in: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 92 (2020), pp. 807–812;
- Topol, E. J.: High-Performance Medicine: The Convergence of Human and Artificial Intelligence, in: Nature Medicine 25 (2019), pp. 44–56;
- Jörg, J.: Digitalization in Medicine. How Health Apps, Telemedicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics Are Revolutionizing Healthcare, Wrocław 2018. Misselhorn, C.: Artificial Intelligence and Empathy. On Living with Emotion Recognition, Sex Robots & Co., Stuttgart 2021
Article on the use of ChatGPT by general practitioners in the UK for medical questions:
Paper on human reasoning in ChatGPT (open access):
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43588-023-00527-x
On generative AI in medical education:
Critical article on the stability of "world models" in large language models:
https://news.mit.edu/2024/generative-ai-lacks-coherent-world-understanding-1105
- Humor Style Questionnaire: www.humorstyles.com
- The presentation to read through.
- Four Styles of Humor
Further reading:
Bossart, Yves: Laughing Anyway - A Brief Philosophy of Humor, Blessing Publishing, 2022
McGhee, Paul: Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out World - The 7 Humor Habits Program, Authorhouse, 2010
Falkenberg, I; McGhee, Paul; Wild, Barbara: Training Humor Skills - A Manual for Psychiatric and Psychotherapeutic Practice, Schattauer Publishing, 2013
Prehm, M.: Cultivate Your Sense of Humor – A Practical Guide for Nursing Care Staff, Springer Verlag, 2018
Recommended reading:
Klaus Leferink, The Person and Their Illness. “Lack of Insight” as an Identity Strategy in People with Chronic Schizophrenia, in: Matthias Claus Angermeyer, Manfred Zaumseil M (eds.): Crazy Designs,
Bonn: Edition Das Narrenschiff, Psychiatrie-Verlag, 1997, 206–261.
Andreas Heinz, The Concept of Mental Illness, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp 2014
Nikolas Rose, Our Psychiatric Future. The Politics of Mental Health, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press 2018.
Dirk Richter, Between Biomedicine, Recovery, and Neurodiversity—Does Social Psychiatry Need a Disease Model? in: Social Psychiatry, Vol. 46, No. 04/2022, 13–16
Link to information on patient-centered consultation and the five-card model:
More information to follow...
Article:
Between Action and Inaction – A Contribution to the Philosophy of Medicine (as PDF):
https://www.hope.uzh.ch/conexus/article/view/conexus.2020.03.007
Book:
Beat Gerber: “Why Medicine Needs Philosophy – Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Illness and Health”
https://www.hogrefe.com/de/shop/warum-die-medizin-die-philosophie-braucht-91064.html
Abstract:
The debate over the relevance of gender issues is currently very much in the spotlight in academia, society, and everyday life. Terms such as “gender madness,” “gender-neutral language,” and other phrases containing “gender” are frequently introduced and exploited to stir up strong emotions and polarize opinion. In doing so, there is sometimes a deliberate misunderstanding of what “sex” and “gender” actually mean.
So-called gender medicine addresses the question of what role gender plays in certain diseases and investigates, for example, gender-specific symptoms and disease progression. This research perspective leads to innovative, groundbreaking, and potentially life-saving results—yet it remains largely unknown. For example, a heart attack can manifest very differently in women than in men, and conversely, osteoporosis in men can go undiagnosed for a long time. For inter* and trans* people, inappropriate guidelines or dosages are often used, frequently with far-reaching medical consequences.
In her lecture, Aniela Knoblich shed light on the current debates surrounding sex and gender, highlighting the merits and potential of gender medicine. She called for an objective, precise approach to gender issues grounded in science and humanity.
Speaker:
Dr. Aniela Knoblich is an expert on gender and diversity in organizations. After studying Latin, German, Education, and Educational Psychology at the University of Göttingen, she worked for more than 17 years as a diversity manager, gender equality officer, and literary scholar at the University of Freiburg. She holds additional qualifications in grief counseling and first aid for mental health and currently works as a freelance consultant on organizational culture, leadership, and diversity, as well as a freelance funeral speaker.
Further reading:
Book recommendation:
Vera Regitz-Zagrosek; Stefanie Schmid-Altringer: Gender Medicine: Why Women Need a Different Kind of Medicine. Munich 2020.
Website:
“Gendered Innovations” project (genderedinnovations.stanford.edu)
Documentary:
“The Invisible Patient – Do Women Get Sick Differently?” (Directed by Marta Schröer; Ursula Duplantier; Germany 2023) – arte: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/106660-000-A/die-unsichtbare-patientin-sind-frauen-anders-krank/ (available on arte until Dec. 14, 2023)
Podcast:
Gendermed: 8 episodes on gender-sensitive medicine: