The Philosophical Foundations of Modern Medicine [electronic resource] /
Lee, K.author.
An exploration of the philosophical foundation of modern medicine which explains why such a medicine possesses the characteristics it does and where precisely its strengths as well as its weaknesses lie. Written in plain English, it should be accessible to anyone who is intellectually curious, lay persons and medical professionals alike.
Description based upon print version of record.
Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I Philosophy and Science; 1 Philosophical Foundations; Science and philosophy; Modern philosophy; Conclusion; 2 Modern Philosophy, Modern Science and Its Methodology; Galileo, objectivity and mathematization of nature; The search for universal laws and the unity of method; Unity of science and reductionism; Conclusion; 3 Category Volte-face: Organisms for Machines; What is mechanism?; Ontological or category volte-face; The category volte-face and the ideological goal of the new science
Heidegger and science as theoretical technologyConclusion; 4 Machines and Reductionism; Engineering and reverse engineering; Engineering, parts/wholes and reductionism; Conclusion; 5 Organism a Machine; The first agricultural revolution; The first scientific agricultural revolution: classical Mendelian genetics and its technology; The second scientific agricultural revolution: molecular genetics and its technology; Theoretical biology and philosophy; Conclusion; Part II Philosophy and Medicine; 6 Human Organism is Machine: MEDICINE; MEDICINE as ENGINEERING, Medicine as engineering
Medicine and human-is-machineConclusion; 7 Biomedicine: Some Sciences; Biomedicine; Biomedicine: cleavage between its sciences and its therapies in the long early stage; Biomedicine: some sciences; Conclusion; 8 Biomedicine: Some Technologies; "Deeper" theories, "deeper" technologies and increasing degrees of control; Surgery; Pharmacology; Conclusion; Part III Causality and Disease; 9 Nosology: The Monogenic Conception of Disease; What is nosology?; Prestigious status of infectious causal agents; Monogenic conception of disease; Postulate 1 and the monogenic conception of disease; Conclusion
10 Linear Causality and the Monogenic Conception of DiseaseHumean roots; Some anomalies; "The cause" in different contexts; Conclusion; 11 Determining "the Cause": Controllability and Random Controlled Trials; Controllability/eliminability; Random Controlled Trial (RCT); Conclusion; 12 Epidemiology: "Cinderella" Status? What kind of science is it really?; Is it revolutionary or sub-standard science?; Causation: multi-factorial; Non-linear causation and post-postmodern ecosystemic science; Epidemiology and controllability; Conclusion; Conclusion; Notes; References and Selected Bibliography
Index
Includes bibliographical references and index.
An exploration of the philosophical foundation of modern medicine which explains why such a medicine possesses the characteristics it does and where precisely its strengths as well as its weaknesses lie. Written in plain English, it should be accessible to anyone who is intellectually curious, lay persons and medical professionals alike.
Philosophy and science.
Medicine—History.
Ethics.
Philosophy of mind.
Social work.
Philosophy of Science.
History of Medicine.
Ethics.
Moral Philosophy.
Philosophy of Mind.
Social Work.