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How Much Science Is There in Medicine?

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Getting It Right in Science and Medicine
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Abstract

When physicians and surgeons are asked whether medicine is a science, the answer is emphatically NO! The author examines and explains to what extent diagnosis, therapy, and psychosomatic medicine are based on scientific knowledge and the laws of nature. It is shown that at least 90 % of all diagnostic and therapeutic methods are the result of scientific discoveries and technical inventions. Therefore, all positive and critical comments on the natural sciences and the reliability of scientific knowledge also concern medicine. However, the purpose and goals of medicine and of scientific research are quite different and, thus, it is justified for physicians to deny that medicine is a natural science.

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Kricheldorf, H.R. (2016). How Much Science Is There in Medicine?. In: Getting It Right in Science and Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30388-8_6

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