Overview
- Presents an innovative approach to confirmation theory in the philosophy of medicine
- Provides a defense of randomization as a method to maximize accuracy in the conduct of clinical trials
- Considers ethical issues surrounding experimentation with medical therapies in human subjects
Part of the book series: Synthese Library (SYLI, volume 426)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- Philosophical confirmation theory
- Confirmation in medicine
- Theories of confirmation
- Inference to the Best Explanation
- Confirmation of hypotheses in clinical medical science
- weight of evidence account defended
- hierarchical pyramid of evidence–based medicine
- defense of randomization
- is evidence from randomized clinical trials necessary
- defense of randomization as a method to maximize accuracy
- research ethics
About this book
In this book, the author argues that no current philosophical theory of evidence in clinical medical science is adequate. None can accurately explain the way evidence is gathered and used to confirm hypotheses. To correct this, he proposes a new approach called the weight of evidence account. This innovative method supplies a satisfactory explanation and rationale for the “hierarchical pyramid” of evidence–based medicine, with randomized clinical trials and their derivatives, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews of randomized clinical trials at the top and case reports, case series, expert opinion, and the like at the bottom.
The author illustrates the development of various “levels” of evidence by considering the evolution of less invasive surgical treatments for early breast cancer. He shows that the weight of evidence account explains the notion of levels of evidence and other efforts to rank them. In addition, he presents a defense of randomization as a method to maximize accuracy in the conduct of clinical trials. The title also considers ethical issues surrounding experimentation with medical therapies in human subjects. It illustrates and discusses these issues in studies of respiratory therapies in neonates and treatment for certain cancers in adults. The author shows that in many cases sufficient evidence can be accrued to warrant generally accepted new therapies without the need for evidence derived from randomized clinical trials.Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Evidence and Hypothesis in Clinical Medical Science
Authors: John Alexander Pinkston
Series Title: Synthese Library
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44270-5
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-44269-9Published: 09 May 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-44272-9Published: 09 May 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-44270-5Published: 08 May 2020
Series ISSN: 0166-6991
Series E-ISSN: 2542-8292
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 152
Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations
Topics: Philosophy of Medicine, Research Ethics, Theory of Medicine/Bioethics, Cancer Research