The UH Manoa Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series Presents
Theory Phobia in Biomedical Science: how philosophers might help understand and cure it
presented by Brandon P. Reines
Date: Friday, October 17, 2025
Time: 2:30pm
Location: Sakamaki C-308
In contrast to physical science which has a prestigious theoretical branch, biomedicine has a strained relationship with its concepts. Remarkably, even saying the word “theory” in biomedical circles risks ridicule for not being sufficiently “evidence based:’ Worse still, I would say the current situation is so epistemologically confused that “theory” might be taken as imply one of many possible routes to knowledge.
Philosophers have mostly added to this confusion by introducing new formalized “discovery” procedures, without any understanding of how biomedical discovery has actually occurred in the past or is likely to occur in the future. There is a real need for philosophers to get to know the nitty gritty of biomedical subject matter and culture in sufficient depth to understand why there is still so much resistance to theory. Indeed, I believe that future evolution of genuine biomedical science including “theoretical biomedicine” depends on astute input from philosophers.
Brandon P. Reines is Director of the Theoretical Unit in the Department of Pathology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.