Ross, Lauren N. The doctrine of specific etiology. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Modern medicine is often said to have originated with 19th century germ theory, which attributed diseases to particular bacterial contagions. The success of this theory is often associated with an underlying principle referred to as the "doctrine of specific etiology," which refers to the theory's specificity at the level of disease causation or etiology. Despite the perceived importance of this doctrine the literature lacks a clear account of the types of specificity it involves and why exactly they matter. This paper argues that the 19th century germ theory model involves two types of specificity at the level of etiology. One type receives significant attention in the literature, but its influence on modern medicine has been misunderstood. A second type is present in this model, but it has been overlooked in the extant literature. My analysis clarifies how these types of specificity led to a novel conception of etiology, which continues to figure in medicine today.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Ross, Lauren N. rossl@uci.edu
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation General Issues > History of Science Case Studies Specific Sciences > Medicine
Depositing User:	Lauren N. Ross
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2018 22:39
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2018 04:30
Item ID:	14390
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation General Issues > History of Science Case Studies Specific Sciences > Medicine
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14390

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• The doctrine of specific etiology. (deposited 13 Feb 2018 22:39) [Currently Displayed]
  • The Doctrine of Specific Etiology. (deposited 02 Oct 2018 13:39)

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