title: Logical thinking in pattern differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the application of logic to pattern differentiation for treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparing logic reasoning of syllogism with the logical thinking of TCM pattern differentiation for treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TCM logical thinking depends on symbolic and intuitive judgment with abstractive reasoning integrated into the process. Although it lacks quantitative measurement, it pays great attention to the comprehensive analysis of a disease's cause and its development patterns to get insight into the essence of illness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TCM diagnosis reasoning method may lack rigorousness, continuity, systematic induction and deduction, but its logical thinking still can attain its goal following a process with rigorous, regulated and scientific formal logic.
authors.affiliation: Basic Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing 210046, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jiankun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Meijuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Zongming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008128:Logic; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000523:psychology*; D019368:Nature; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D013561:Symbolism; D013850:Thinking