On the classification of diseases.

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Metaphysics

Background:

• Accurate disease classification is crucial for law, ethics, epidemiology, and medicine.
• Existing frameworks for disease individuation and classification require refinement.
• Philosophical concepts from biology and causation inform disease ontology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a method for individuating and classifying disease types.
• To establish a metaphysical ontology of disease.
• To ensure distinct disease types are not ascribed to the same disease instance.

Main Methods:

• Endorsing a dispositional conception of disease, drawing on existing philosophical literature.
• Analyzing disease identity in relation to clinical and pathological effects.
• Examining disease treatment strategies.

Main Results:

• Proposed a means to individuate diseases, preventing misattribution of disease types to single instances.
• Presented a metaphysical ontology defining diseases as causal processes.
• Supported a dispositional view of disease.

Conclusions:

• Diseases should be individuated based on their specific causes.
• Diseases are best understood as simultaneous, interacting sequences of manifesting dispositions.
• This framework aids in developing more effective disease interventions.