The epistemological aspects in the historical works of Don Bates.
The object of this paper is to systematize an epistemological framework of analysis derived from Don Bates's extended essay "Medicine and The Soul of Science," and apply that framework to a number of problems connected to medical knowledge, addressed in previous research by the author. The paper also draws from Bates's earlier work, especially the two-part "Closing the Circle" on William Harvey and the reception of his ideas by his contemporaries, and from contrasting and comparing it to the work of philosophers and historians of science who tackled similar problems, most notably Ludwik Fleck, Thomas Kuhn, and Ian Hacking. The resulting framework is based on three main concepts: constructed coherencing, the unproblematic background knowledge (UBK), and the mechanical mind. The paper closes with an application of that framework to the discussion of knowledge in medicine and the definition of diseases.
de Camargo
Kenneth Rochel
KR
Social Medicine Institute, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil.
D003210:Concept Formation; D006666:History of Medicine; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history*; D012586:Science / Q000266:history*