The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease

Many biological functions allow for grades. For example, secretion of a specific hormone in an organism can be on a higher or lower level, compared to the same organism at another occasion or compared to other organisms. What levels of functioning constitute instances of dysfunction; where should we...

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Autor principal:	Thomas Schramme
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	University of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 2021
Materias:	theory of function dysfunction line-drawing problem concept of disease nosology Philosophy (General) B1-5802
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/396ca22fb5f54beda9d6d4db41120d5d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:396ca22fb5f54beda9d6d4db41120d5d2021-12-01T13:47:38ZThe Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease1845-84751849-0514https://doaj.org/article/396ca22fb5f54beda9d6d4db41120d5d2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://hrcak.srce.hr/file/386401https://doaj.org/toc/1845-8475https://doaj.org/toc/1849-0514Many biological functions allow for grades. For example, secretion of a specific hormone in an organism can be on a higher or lower level, compared to the same organism at another occasion or compared to other organisms. What levels of functioning constitute instances of dysfunction; where should we draw the line? This is the quantitative problem for theories of dysfunction and disease. I aim to defend a version of biological theories of dysfunction to tackle this problem. However, I will also allow evaluative considerations to enter into a theory of disease. My argument is based on a distinction between a biological and a clinical perspective. Disease, according to my reasoning, is restricted to instances that fall within the boundaries of biological dysfunctions. Responding to the quantitative problem does not require arbitrary decisions or social value-judgements. Hence, I argue for a non-arbitrary, fact-based method to address the quantitative problem. Still, not all biological dysfunctions are instances of disease. Adding a clinical perspective allows us to prevent the potential over-inclusiveness of the biological perspective, because it restricts the boundaries of disease even further.Thomas SchrammeUniversity of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences articletheory of functiondysfunctionline-drawing problemconcept of diseasenosologyPhilosophy (General)B1-5802ENEuropean Journal of Analytic Philosophy, Vol 17, Iss 2, Pp S7-30 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	theory of function dysfunction line-drawing problem concept of disease nosology Philosophy (General) B1-5802
spellingShingle	theory of function dysfunction line-drawing problem concept of disease nosology Philosophy (General) B1-5802 Thomas Schramme The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease
description	Many biological functions allow for grades. For example, secretion of a specific hormone in an organism can be on a higher or lower level, compared to the same organism at another occasion or compared to other organisms. What levels of functioning constitute instances of dysfunction; where should we draw the line? This is the quantitative problem for theories of dysfunction and disease. I aim to defend a version of biological theories of dysfunction to tackle this problem. However, I will also allow evaluative considerations to enter into a theory of disease. My argument is based on a distinction between a biological and a clinical perspective. Disease, according to my reasoning, is restricted to instances that fall within the boundaries of biological dysfunctions. Responding to the quantitative problem does not require arbitrary decisions or social value-judgements. Hence, I argue for a non-arbitrary, fact-based method to address the quantitative problem. Still, not all biological dysfunctions are instances of disease. Adding a clinical perspective allows us to prevent the potential over-inclusiveness of the biological perspective, because it restricts the boundaries of disease even further.
format	article
author	Thomas Schramme
author_facet	Thomas Schramme
author_sort	Thomas Schramme
title	The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease
title_short	The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease
title_full	The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease
title_fullStr	The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease
title_full_unstemmed	The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease
title_sort	quantitative problem for theories of dysfunction and disease
publisher	University of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/396ca22fb5f54beda9d6d4db41120d5d
work_keys_str_mv	AT thomasschramme thequantitativeproblemfortheoriesofdysfunctionanddisease AT thomasschramme quantitativeproblemfortheoriesofdysfunctionanddisease
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The Quantitative Problem for Theories of Dysfunction and Disease

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