Miracles and the Limits of Medical Knowledge
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 5 (1):1 - 9 (2002)
| Abstract | In considering whether medical miracles occur, the limits of epistemology bring us to confront our metaphysical worldview of medicine and nature in general. This raises epistemological questions of a higher order. David Hume’s understanding of miracles as violations of the laws of nature assumes that nature is completely regular, whereas doctrines such as C. S. Peirce’s "tychism" hold that there is an element of absolute chance in the workings of the universe. Process philosophy gives yet another view of the working of nature. Physicians have no epistemological grounds for declaring any cure to be miraculous. Miracles are theological (or philosophical) entities, and not medical entities. All physicians can do is to determine whether or not a cure is scientifically inexplicable according to the current epistemological standards of medical science. (edited) | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesTerence L. Nichols (2002). Miracles in Science and Theology. Zygon 37 (3):703-716.
Robert Larmer (1988). Against 'Against Miracles'. Sophia 27:20 - 25.
Stephen Mumford (2001). Miracles: Metaphysics and Modality. Religious Studies 37 (2):191-202.
James E. Gilman (1989). Reconceiving Miracles. Religious Studies 25 (4):477 - 487.
Martin Curd (1996). Miracles as Violations of Laws of Nature. In Faith, Freedom, and Rationality: Philosophy of Religion Today. Rowman & Littlefield.
Andrzej Stępnik (2007). Prawa natury, prawa nauki a cuda. Krytyka argumentów Hume'a przeciwko cudom. Filozofia Nauki 4.
Keith Ward (2002). Believing in Miracles. Zygon 37 (3):741-750.
Paul Fitzgerald (1985). Miracles. Philosophical Forum 17:48 - 64.
Richard L. Purtill (1976). Proofs of Miracles and Miracles as Proofs. Christian Scholar’s Review 6.
Edward L. Schoen (1991). David Hume and the Mysterious Shroud of Turin. Religious Studies 27 (2):209 - 222.
Karen R. Zwier (2012). The Status of Laws of Nature in the Philosophy of Leibniz. Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 85:149-160.
Robert H. Ayers (1980). C. S. Peirce on Miracles. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 16 (3):242 - 254.
Peter Harrison (1995). Newtonian Science, Miracles, and the Laws of Nature. Journal of the History of Ideas 56 (4):531 - 553.
George I. Mavrodes (1985). Miracles and the Laws of Nature. Faith and Philosophy 2 (4):333-346.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2010-08-31Total downloads1 ( #274,830 of 549,087 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
