About

The International Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable (IPMR) is an open group of philosophers, clinicians, epidemiologists, social scientists, statisticians, bioethicists, and anyone else with an interest in epistemological and ontological issues connected with medicine. Its goal is to promote study of these philosophical issues by connecting people with an interest in them and organizing forums for the exchange of ideas. Bioethics, philosophy of psychiatry and the history of medicine are related disciplines with established national and international organizations.  The IPMR is the first organization in the philosophy of medicine whose focus is not on bioethics or psychiatry, although we count specialists in both areas among our members. The primary venue of the IPMR is the Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable conference held every 18-24 months. The first Roundtables, held before the organization of the IPRM, were hosted by Harold Kincaid at University of Alabama, Birmingham (2005 and 2008). Subsequent Roundtables have been held at Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics, Rotterdam (2009), University of the Basque Country, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain (2011), Columbia University, New York (2013), University of Bristol (2015), University of Toronto (2017) and University of Paris (2019). It was hosted remotely by Michigan State University in 2021. The Roundtable returned in person in Bologna, Italy in June 2023. The next Roundtable will be in London in 2025.