From Brain to Being: Reintegrating Philosophy Into Neurology Education

Neurologists increasingly face clinical situations marked by diagnostic ambiguity, ethical complexity, and disorders that challenge traditional concepts of consciousness, personhood, and agency. Yet most neurology training programs remain focused on biomedical knowledge and procedural skills, offering limited preparation for these profound and often morally charged aspects of care. This educational gap may undermine clinical reasoning, ethical sensitivity, and the formation of a reflective professional identity. This review proposes the integration of 3 underrepresented but essential domains-epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of mind-into neurology education. Guided by Kern's 6-step curriculum development model, the article outlines theory-informed, evidence-based strategies to embed philosophical competencies within postgraduate training. Epistemology supports diagnostic reasoning through metacognitive insight, recognition of bias, and tolerance for ambiguity. Ethics education strengthens moral judgment and communication in scenarios involving capacity assessment, end-of-life care, and neurotechnological interventions. Philosophy of mind offers conceptual clarity for understanding disorders of consciousness, neurodegeneration, and altered personhood. Curricular strategies include narrative debriefings, ethics Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), interdisciplinary seminars, and reflective bedside teaching, all of which can be embedded into core clinical rotations such as neuro-intensive care unit (ICU) and cognitive neurology. Learning objectives are aligned with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestones and supported by validated assessment tools, including reflective writing rubrics, structured ethical evaluations, and measures of ambiguity tolerance. Implementation barriers-including faculty readiness and curricular constraints-are addressed through faculty development, co-teaching models, and modular integration. By reframing philosophy as a clinical competency rather than a theoretical enrichment, this review offers a pragmatic and forward-looking approach to neurology education. Embedding philosophical reasoning into training enhances diagnostic precision, ethical engagement, and patient-centered care. The integration of philosophy into neurology education is not a veneration of the past, but a forward-looking complement, offering a humanistic framework to guide clinical reasoning and professional identity in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and neurotechnology.