EMPIRICISM VERSES RATIONALISM: MATTERS ARISING IN MEDICAL PRACTICE

Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Okeke Jonathan

Abstract


The two schools, Rationalism and Empiricism have been at loggerheads over what constitutes the ultimate source of knowledge. This is the focal point of epistemology, the branch of philosophy devoted to studying the nature, sources and limits of knowledge. However, in medical practice, these concern ways of thinking in diagnosis and therapeutics. The Empirical and the Rationalist philosophies are two logical and consistent thought structures which are in all respects entirely antagonistic to one another, one favoring the senses and the other favoring the mind. This paper is therefore concerned with the existence of a conflict in therapeutics between what are called the Empirical and the Rationalist philosophies.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abraham, Medical (1960). Education in the United States and Canada: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Angell, Marcia (1992). “Breast Implants: Protection or Paternalism?â€, NEW ENG. J. MED, 326, 1695.

Baillie, J. (1956). The Idea of Revelation in Recent Thought. New York: Columbia University Press.

Baum, Michael (1981). Scientific empiricism and clinical medicine: a discussion paper. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 74. 504-509

Charlton, B.G. & A. Miles (1998). The Rise and Fall of EBM. Q. J. MED. 91. 37174.

Coulter, Harris (1994). Empiricism vs. Rationalism in Medicine. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. 9, 3. 159-166.

Descartes, R. (1980). Meditations on First Philosophy. Trans. Laurence I. Lafleur. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.

Goldberg, Eugene (1996). Evaluating the Health Risks of Breast Implants. NEW ENG. J. MED. 335. 1154.

Janowsky, Esther et al. (2000). Meta-Analyses of the Relation Between Silicone Breast Implants and the Risk of Connective-Tissue Diseases. 342 NEW ENG. J. MED 781.

Jules, Mitchel (2006). History of Medicne. Retrieved 20th February 2012. www.targethealth.com.

Magee, B (1973). Popper. Glasgow: Fontana/Collins.

Major, Ralph (1954). A History of Medicine. London: Hutchinson.

Markie, Peter. “Rationalism vs. Empiricism.†Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 20th February 2012. www.stanford.plato.org.

Newton ,Warren (2000). Rationalism and Empiricism in Modern Medicine. Law and Contemporary Problems 64, 4.10-15.

Paul, J.R (1938). Clinical Epidemiology. J. Clinical Investigation. 17. 539, 539-41.

Popper, K. R (1959).The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Hutchinson.

Prioreschi, Plinio (1996). A History of Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.

Schouls, P. (1980). The Imposition of Method, New York: Oxford University Press.

Winston, Robert (1997). The Promise of Cloning for Human Medicine. BRIT. MED. J. 314, 913.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.