Medical practice is practiced morality, and clinical research belongs to normative ethics. The present book elucidates and advances this thesis by: 1. analyzing the structure of medical language, knowledge, and theories; 2. inquiring into the foundations of the clinical encounter; 3. introducing the logic and methodology of clinical decision-making; 4. suggesting comprehensive theories of organism, life, and psyche; of health, illness, and disease; of etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, and therapy; and 5. investigating the moral and metaphysical issues central to medical practice and research.

Autorentext
Kazem Sadegh-Zadeh (born 23 April 1942) is an analytic philosopher of medicine. He studied medicine and philosophy at the German universities of Münster, Berlin, and Göttingen with Internship and residency 1967-1971, assistant professor 1972-1982, full professor of philosophy of medicine at the University of Münster 1982-2004. Sadegh-Zadeh was born in Tabriz, Iran. He has made significant contributions to the analytic philosophy of medicine. His international recognition came especially through his work on clinical logic and methodology, including fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence in medicine. He is the founding editor of the international journals Metamed, founded in 1977 (current title: Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, published by Springer) and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, founded in 1989. Among his extensive work are the following innovative theories: theory of medicine, theory of fuzzy biopolymers, the prototype resemblance theory of disease, and theory of the Machina Sapiens.

Inhalt

Part I The Language of Medicine.-

1. The Epistemic Impact of Medical Language.-

2. The Syntax and Semantics of Medical Language.-

3. The Pragmatics of Medical Language.-

4. Varieties of Medical Concepts.-

5. Fundamentals of Medical Concept Formation.-

Part II Medical Praxiology.-

6. The Patient.-

7. The Physician.-

8. Clinical Practice.-

Part III Medical Epistemology.-

9. The Architecture of Medical Knowledge.-

10. Types of Medical Knowledge.-

11. The Semantics and Pragmatics of Medical Knowledge.-

12. Technoconstructivism.-

Part IV Medical Deontics .-

13. Morality, Ethics, and Deontics .-

14. Disease as a Deontic Construct.-

15. Medicine Is a Deontic Discipline.-

Part V Medical Logic.- Logic in Medicine.-

17. The Logic of Medicine.-

Part VI Medical Metaphysics.-

18. On What There Are.-

19. Medical Ontology.-

20. On Medical Truth.-

21. On the Nature of Medicine.-

Part VII Epilog.-

22. Science, Medicine, and Rationality.-

23. Perspectivism.-

24. The Doubter.-

Part VIII Logical Fundamentals.-

25. Classical Sets 25.-

26 Classical Logic.-

27. Modal Extensions of Classical Logic.-

28. Non-Classical Logics.-

29. Probability Logic.-

30. Fuzzy Logic.