On Drugs

Journal article

Baron, Samuel, Linton, Sara and O'Malley, Maureen A.. (2023). On Drugs. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. 48(6), pp. 551-564. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhad035
AuthorsBaron, Samuel, Linton, Sara and O'Malley, Maureen A.
Abstract

Despite their centrality to medicine, drugs are not easily defined. We introduce two desiderata for a basic definition of medical drugs. It should: (a) capture everything considered to be a drug in medical contexts and (b) rule out anything that is not considered to be a drug. After canvassing a range of options, we find that no single definition of drugs can satisfy both desiderata. We conclude with three responses to our exploration of the drug concept: maintain a monistic concept, or choose one of two pluralistic outcomes. Notably, the distinction between drugs and other substances is placed under pressure by the most plausible of the options available.

Keywordsconceptual analysis; drug; monism; pharmacology; pluralism
Year01 Jan 2023
JournalThe Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
Journal citation48 (6), pp. 551-564
PublisherOxford University Press, USA
ISSN0360-5310
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhad035
Web address (URL)https://academic.oup.com/jmp/article/48/6/551/7206006
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range551-564
Publisher's version
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File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
PrintDec 2023
Publication process dates
AcceptedJun 2023
Deposited16 Aug 2024
Additional information

© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Place of publicationUnited States
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