Health and disease as practical concepts: exploring function in context-specific definitions

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Medicine
• Conceptual Analysis
• Health and Disease Definitions

Background:

• The definitions of health and disease lack consensus despite extensive debate.
• Existing definitions have significant practical implications across various fields.
• Current proposals suggest viewing health and disease as pluralistic and context-dependent concepts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent contributions to the health and disease definition debate.
• To examine the significance of context-specific definitions for health and disease.
• To explore the relationship between the practical function of definitions and their context of use.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent philosophical and conceptual analyses.
• Examination of the functional aspects of health and disease definitions.
• Analysis of context-dependent application of these concepts.

Main Results:

• Monistic definitions of health and disease are problematic and undesirable due to their varied functions.
• The practical function of a definition is crucial when determining its context.
• A pluralistic approach, considering context, is more effective for defining health and disease.

Conclusions:

• Formulating context-specific definitions for health and disease requires analyzing their practical function within a given context.
• A pluralist stance on health and disease definitions offers a more adaptable framework.
• Further research is needed to address challenges and refine pluralist approaches to defining health and disease.