Logic in medicine

pp. 587-673

in: Kazem Sadegh-Zadeh, Handbook of analytic philosophy of medicine, Berlin, Springer, 2012

Abstract

Problem-solving in any domain requires adequate methods of problem-solving. For example, methods of arithmetic guide us in dealing with arithmetical problems such as "what is 4 + 5?". Arithmetical problems cannot be tackled by means of hammers or microscopes. Likewise, any issue that needs reasoning requires a particular method of reasoning, i.e., logic. Reasoning is not the art of asserting what one likes to assert. Unfortunately, philosophy of medicine has scarcely concerned itself with methods of reasoning in medicine.