Acknowledgments -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Foreword -- Introduction by William Tobey Horn -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 A brief history of Medical Philosophy -- 1.1 General Aspects -- 1.2 Application and epistemological considerations -- a) Defining the questions -- b) Medicine as art, science, and technology -- c) Self-Image, Academic Achievement, Healing Process -- Chapter 2 Philosophy as basic approach to Medicine -- 2.1 Hermeneutics and Evidence-Based Medicine -- 2.2 Truth in Method -- a) Understanding the Language -- b) Clinical Reasoning -- c) Medicine and Psychology: philosophical background and scientific method -- Chapter 3 Between Neuroscience and Phenomenology -- 3.1 Hegel, Merleau-Ponty and Natural Religion: where are we now? -- 3.2 Theoretically grounded, empirically supported: The mind-brain problem -- a) An analysis of terms -- b) Suggesting a model -- c) Explanation of the goal -- Chapter 4 The patient at the center of therapy -- 4.1 Patient's communication, perception and self-perception -- 4.2 The search for meaning -- a) Human, All Too Human -- b) Experimental Philosophy -- c) Mirror, Mirror on the Wall -- Chapter 5 Complementary, Alternative,Traditional Medicine -- 5.1 I shall please, I will please -- 5.2 Integrating, complementing, completing -- a) A logical examination: Central Medicine -- b) Efficacy, Efficiency, Effectiveness -- c) Culture and Identity -- Chapter 6 Beyond the realms of this world -- 6.1 Camus, Sartre, and God: where are we now? -- 6.2 Alfa et Omega, Diagnosis et Prognosis: -- a) The time of our life -- b) Multiple perspectives -- c) Near Death Experience and a Mindful Awareness -- Chapter 7 Translational science -- 7.1 Taxonomic considerations -- 7.2 Applied Medical Philosophy -- a) The Third Way -- b) Finding Balance -- c) Research and beyond -- Conclusion -- Afterword.

Appendix Empirical Research at the University of Vermont Medical Center -- References and Further Readings -- 1. Bibliography -- 2. Quoted Works -- 3. Other Sources.

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This innovative book clarifies the distinction between philosophy of medicine and medical philosophy, expanding the focus from the ‘knowing that' of the first to the ‘knowing how' of the latter. The idea of patient and provider self-discovery becomes the method and strategy at the basis of therapeutic treatment. It develops the concept of ‘Central Medicine', aimed at overcoming the dichotomies of Western–Eastern medicine and Traditional–Integrative approaches. Evidence-based and patient-centered medicine are analyzed in the context of the debate on placebo and non-specific effects alongside clinical research on the patient-doctor relationship, and the interactive nature of human relationships in general, including factors such as environment, personal beliefs, and perspectives on life's meaning and purpose. Tomasi's research incorporates neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and medicine in a clear, readable, and detailed way, satisfying the needs of professionals, students, and anyone who enjoys the exploration of the complexity of human mind, brain, and heart.