The prototype resemblance theory of disease.
In a previous paper the concept of disease was fuzzy-logically analyzed and a sketch was given of a prototype resemblance theory of disease (Sadegh-Zadeh (2000). J. Med. Philos., 25:605-38). This theory is outlined in the present paper. It demonstrates what it means to say that the concept of disease is a nonclassical one and, therefore, not amenable to traditional methods of inquiry. The theory undertakes a reconstruction of disease as a category that in contradistinction to traditional views is not based on a set of common features of its members, that is individual diseases, but on a few best examples of the category, called its prototypes, and a similarity relationship such that a human condition is considered a disease if it resembles a prototype. It enables new approaches to resolving many of the stubborn problems associated with the concept of disease.
Sadegh-Zadeh
Kazem
K
University of Münster, Münster, Germany. ksz-2@medizintheorie.de
D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004194:Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000208:ethnology; D017143:Fuzzy Logic; D006801:Humans; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D009626:Terminology as Topic