[Dr. Sackett & "Mr. Sacketeer"... Enchantment and disenchantment in the land of expertise in evidence-based medicine].
In May 2000, Prof. David L. Sackett, one of the founders of the evidence-based medicine movement (EBM), published an article in the British Medical Journal in which he renounced writing, teaching, or serving as a referee for topics related to EBM. He justified his stance based on his frustration over what he considered the harmful effects of an alleged excess of experts in this field. Sackett's position was the raw material whereby we approached aspects linked to the definition and scope of EBM as well as related critiques. We also stress the movement's various rhetorical strategies. In addition, we discuss both the notion of expertise and the role of "expert systems" and "specialized competence" in our societal milieu, developed respectively by Anthony Giddens and Zygmunt Bauman. The main focus of this commentary is to emphasize that while we are dealing with a progressive trend towards acquiring control and intelligibility vis-à-vis the objects of our research, we must consider the possibility of dimensions that cannot be reached by way of the rationalistic Western mode of thought.
Departamento de Epidemiologia e Métodos Quantitativos em Saúde, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brasil. castiel@ensp.fiocruz.br
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D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D012962:Sociology, Medical