A laborious examination of the evolution of the bacterial theory of
peptic ulcers, pointing more generally to how scientific theories
evolve. Thagard (Philosophy/Univ. Of Waterloo, Canada) begins by
arguing against a traditional view of scientists as individuals
conducting objective experiments with no presupposed outcome. The
"postmodern view" of scientists trying to prove a hypothesis that
will be most beneficial to them ("largely a matter of politics") is
similarly too simplistic. Thagard interlaces general arguments
about the nature of scientists and scientific research with
specific details of several scientific theories, such as
headline-provoking conditions like "mad cow" disease and chronic
fatigue syndrome. In the meat of the book, the author discusses
diseases such as scurvy and his benchmark case, the bacterial
theory of ulcers. The history of this theory is elaborated in some
detail - we learn, among other things, that one of the reseachers
swallowed a live culture of the bacteria to prove his point.
Thagard's general discussions of scientific research schemas
include many flow-chart-like diagrams that demonstrate possible
cause-and-effect relationships, such as how social and
psychological explanations of science relate to the science itself.
The book tries too hard to explain itself, plodding through each
theory step by step, even giving some arguments in outline form.
This poor writing tends to obfuscate matters rather than simplify
them. Thagard's treatment of complex equations showing causal
probabilities, for example, concludes with the obtuse statement
that "causal reasoning requires the abductive inference that a
factor has the power to produce an effect." Once deciphered, this
is hardly a profound point. At its best, an engaging description of
mysterious diseases past and present, but the book gets bogged down
in flow charts, outlines, and equations that will leave the casual
reader more frustrated than enlightened. (Kirkus Reviews)
How do scientists develop new explanations of disease? How do
those explanations become accepted as true? And how does medical
diagnosis change when physicians are confronted with new scientific
evidence? These are some of the questions that Paul Thagard pursues
in this pathbreaking book that develops a new, integrative approach
to the study of science.
Ranging through the history of medicine, from the Hippocratic
theory of humors to modern explanations of Mad Cow Disease and
chronic fatigue syndrome, Thagard analyzes the development and
acceptance of scientific ideas. At the heart of the book is a case
study of the recent dramatic shift in medical understanding of
peptic ulcers, most of which are now believed to be caused by
infection by the bacterium "Helicobacter pylori." When this
explanation was first proposed in 1983, it was greeted with intense
skepticism by most medical experts, but it became widely accepted
over the next decade. Thagard discusses the psychological processes
of discovery and acceptance, the physical processes involving
instruments and experiments, and the social processes of
collaboration, communication, and consensus that brought about this
transformation in medical knowledge.
"How Scientists Explain Disease" challenges both traditional
philosophy of science, which has viewed science as largely a matter
of logic, and contemporary science studies that view science as
largely a matter of power. Drawing on theories of distributed
computing and artificial intelligence, Paul Thagard develops new
models that make sense of scientific change as a complex system of
cognitive, social, and physical interactions.
This is a book that will appeal to all readers with an interest
in the development of science and medicine. It combines an engaging
style, significant research, and a powerfully original
argument.
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