Causation in Medicine
The Disease Entity Model
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9956767 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Caroline Whitbeck (Albany State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1977 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 619-637 |
| Publication date | 1977-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1086/288771 |
| OpenAlex | W1964851455 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 17 |
| References cited | 8 |
This paper examines the way in which causal relations are understood in the dominant model in contemporary medicine. It argues that the causal relation is not definable in terms of the condition relation, but that in general for conditions of an occurrence to be among its causes they must answer instrumental interests in a certain way, and there are further criteria for distinguishing ‘the’ cause of a disease (i.e., its etiological agent) from other causal factors, which are based upon instrumental interests peculiar to medicine. It also argues that diseases are complex processes of which both clinical and underlying patho-physiological manifestations are proper parts (as contrasted with effects)
Causal model · Causality (physics) · Causation · Causative · Disease · Economics · Epistemology · Linguistics · Pathology · Positive economics · Relation (database) · Computer Science · Ethics in medical practice · Medicine · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Philosophy
Universalism and individuality as a structural tension in modern medicine
The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis
Temporal uncertainty in disease diagnosis
Classifying unknowns
Universal etiology, multifactorial diseases and the constitutive model of disease classification
Too much of a good thing . . . ? [aging process]
What is diagnosis? Some critical reflections
Reply to Maltzman's “Why Alcoholism is a Disease”
Why Alcoholism Is a Disease
Using Experiments in Knowledge Utilization Research
The causal assumptions of quasi-experimental practice
On ‘Stabilising’ medical mechanisms, truth-makers and epistemic causality
What are chronic diseases
The Overlooked Role of Cases in Causal Attribution in Medicine
Why have Educational Evaluators Chosen Not to Do Randomized Experiments
A goal-directed approach to disease classification
Causation
| Citations per year | 0.38 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1981 - 2026 (46) |
| Highly cited | No |