Summary:
Views on causality in medicine are today deeply influenced by philosophy of T. S. Kuhn (paradigm) and K. R.
Popper (falsification of hypotheses). Contemporary epidemiological studies, which show the importance of social
factors, move scientists in medical research to broaden their traditional positivistic reasoning with the deductive
approach in the hypothesis formation, with using sociologic methods and to develop sociobiological research. From
the point of falsification theory and alteration of scientific revolutions the causal way in the disease etiology in the
permanent seek of the „final“ link in the chain of risk factors. Medicine as a humanistic and social science developed
dichotomically and asymmetrically. It is now divided and dysfunctional because it is not able to use fully its internal
capacity to improve health of the whole population. Search for the identity of medicine is permanent and never ending
historical process.
Key words:
hypothetico-deductive method, hypothesis, causal way, regressus in infinitum, biological reductio-
nism, socio-biological translation, objectivity of the scientist, dichotomy and dysfunction in medicine.
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