[Essay on the epistemological relationship between probability and scientific method].
In the XIX century, regularities in statistics of events were perceived in Medicine and Human Sciences. These regularities raised the possibility of forecasting what considered to be impredictable, and so, probabilistics laws became an alternative to the strictly-causal laws. This work presents a brief historical review of probability calculus and its applications. Some philosophical thoughs, regarding the use of probabilistics models and decision analysis in Medicine, are also discussed.
Maciel
E M
EM
Instituto Fernandes Figueira, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22250-020, Brasil. esmaciel@rio.nutecnet.br.
Telles
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FS
D015510:Clinical Medicine; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012106:Research