Causal Explanations in Psychiatry: A Critique of Some Current Concepts

1969 ◽  
Vol 115 (519) ◽  
pp. 129-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Dalén
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Slight Modification ◽  
Psychiatric Research ◽  
Karl Popper ◽  
Koch’S Postulates ◽  
Causal Explanations ◽  
Koch's Postulates

The rules known as Koch's postulates have served as invaluable guides to the discovery of the specific causes of various infectious diseases. It may safely be assumed that their influence has also been great on the methods of study in the field of non-infectious diseases. For example, with slight modification Koch's postulates may be applied to the study of diseases caused by poisons. But can they be modified and applied with profit in psychiatric research? This is an important problem, and it cannot be discussed without reference, explicit or implicit, to philosophical assumptions. In this paper some consequences of the philosophy of science of Sir Karl Popper will be tentatively explored.

Explanation Beyond Causation

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Philosophical Study ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
Causal Information ◽  
Causal Explanations ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
Wide Range

Explanations are very important to us in many contexts: in science, mathematics, philosophy, and also in everyday and juridical contexts. But what is an explanation? In the philosophical study of explanation, there is long-standing, influential tradition that links explanation intimately to causation: we often explain by providing accurate information about the causes of the phenomenon to be explained. Such causal accounts have been the received view of the nature of explanation, particularly in philosophy of science, since the 1980s. However, philosophers have recently begun to break with this causal tradition by shifting their focus to kinds of explanation that do not turn on causal information. The increasing recognition of the importance of such non-causal explanations in the sciences and elsewhere raises pressing questions for philosophers of explanation. What is the nature of non-causal explanations—and which theory best captures it? How do non-causal explanations relate to causal ones? How are non-causal explanations in the sciences related to those in mathematics and metaphysics? This volume of new essays explores answers to these and other questions at the heart of contemporary philosophy of explanation. The essays address these questions from a variety of perspectives, including general accounts of non-causal and causal explanations, as well as a wide range of detailed case studies of non-causal explanations from the sciences, mathematics and metaphysics.

From Selz to Gigerenzer: A thought-psychological research history, which needs a Popperian, fallibilist theory of rationality to effectively develop

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Wettersten
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Karl Popper ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Herbert Simon ◽  
Research History

Two sharply separated traditions in the philosophy of science and in thought psychology began with Otto Selz’s psychology. The first tradition began with Karl Popper; it has been developed by many others. The developers of the second tradition have included Julius Bahle, Adriaan de Groot, Herbert Simon, and Gerd Gigerenzer. The first tradition has ignored empirical studies of thought processes. The second tradition is widely based on Simon’s inductivist philosophy. The first tradition can be improved by integrating empirical studies of rationality into its research. The second tradition can be improved by replacing its inductivist assumptions with a fallibilist framework.

First Report of Pathogenicity of Fusarium sporotrichioides and Fusarium acuminatum on Sunflowers in the United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Mathew ◽  
B. Kirkeide ◽  
T. Gulya ◽  
S. Markell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Helianthus Annuus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fusarium Sporotrichioides ◽  
Charcoal Rot ◽  
Koch’S Postulates ◽  
First Report ◽  
Fusarium Acuminatum ◽  
Helianthus Annuus L ◽  
Koch's Postulates

Widespread infection of charcoal rot was observed in a commercial sunflower field in Minnesota in September 2009. Based on morphology, isolates were identified as F. sporotrichioides and F. acuminatum. Koch's postulates demonstrated pathogencity of both species. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. sporotrichoides and F. acuminatum causing disease on Helianthus annuus L. in the United States. Accepted for publication 23 August 2010. Published 15 September 2010.

scholarly journals Cancer stem cells: Beyond Koch’s postulates

2009 ◽  
Vol 278 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Garcion ◽  
Philippe Naveilhan ◽  
François Berger ◽  
Didier Wion
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Koch’S Postulates ◽  
Koch's Postulates

Koch’s Postulates

2008 ◽  
pp. 2093-2093
Author(s):  
Gary J. Puterka ◽  
D. Michael Glenn ◽  
George Hangay ◽  
Darryl Gwynne ◽  
John B. Heppner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Koch’S Postulates ◽  
Koch's Postulates

A Microbiology Teaching Lab: Using Koch's Postulates to Determine the Cause of “Peep Pox” in Marshmallow Peeps

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 676-679
Author(s):  
John L. Dahl ◽  
Wayne Gatlin
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Koch’S Postulates ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Effective Time ◽  
Microbial Isolation ◽  
Koch's Postulates

Koch's postulates are regularly included in the lecture portion of microbiology courses, but rarely are they demonstrated in a microbiology teaching lab. This is understandable given the logistical challenges of undergraduates working with pathogenic bacteria, ethical concerns using animals, and limited time constraints of a weekly lab period. Here we present a cost-effective, time-friendly lab activity that demonstrates the principles of microbial isolation and infection assays that are part of fulfilling Koch's postulates. The disease is “peep pox” caused by a gelatinase-positive bacterial species hydrolyzing marshmallow peeps that proxy as infected animals.

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