Philosophy of Epidemiology (New Directions in the Philosophy of Science)

Epidemiology Is One Of The Fastest Growing And Increasingly Important Sciences. This Thorough Analysis Lays Out The Conceptual Foundations Of Epidemiology, Identifying Traps And Setting Out The Benefits Of Properly Understanding This Fascinating And Important Discipline, As Well As Providing The Means To Do So. By Alex Broadbent. Epidemiology, the study of population health by means of group comparisons, is of increasing importance to health policy and medicine, but it has never before received sustained philosophical attention. This book is the first comprehensive philosophical treatment of the science of epidemiology, drawing together material on causation, causal inference, prediction, the interpretation of effect measures, the nature of disease, and legal uses of epidemiological evidence. Old philosophical problems are seen from new angles, especially general causation, causal explanation, and the use of causal knowledge to predict. The conceptual development of epidemiology is invigorated by a critical examination of foundational doctrines. Causal inference, interaction, the interpretation of measures of attributability, risk relativism, and the notion of multifactorial disease are all scrutinized. The attempted use of epidemiological evidence in legal context is also analyzed, along with the philosophical problems it throws up. This book is essential reading for any professional or lay reader with an interest in understanding the conceptual and methodological foundations of epidemiology, as well as its difficulties Front Matter....Pages i-xxii Why Philosophy of Epidemiology?....Pages 1-9 Philosophical and Epidemiological Basics....Pages 10-25 The Causal Interpretation Problem....Pages 26-55 Causal Inference, Translation, and Stability....Pages 56-65 Stable Causal Inference....Pages 66-80 Prediction....Pages 81-98 Making and Assessing Epidemiological Predictions....Pages 99-114 Puzzles of Attributability....Pages 115-128 Risk Relativism, Interaction, and the Shadow of Physics....Pages 129-144 Multifactorialism and Beyond....Pages 145-161 Epidemiology and the Law....Pages 162-181 Conclusion: Thinking Is Good for You....Pages 182-182 Back Matter....Pages 183-203