Koch’s postulates: An interventionist perspective

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 59:35-46 (2016)
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Abstract

We argue that Koch’s postulates are best understood within an interventionist account of causation, in the sense described in Woodward. We show how this treatment helps to resolve interpretive puzzles associated with Koch’s work and how it clarifies the different roles the postulates play in providing useful, yet not universal criteria for disease causation. Our paper is an effort at rational reconstruction; we attempt to show how Koch’s postulates and reasoning make sense and are normatively justified within an interventionist framework and more difficult to understand within alternative frameworks for thinking about causation.

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Author Profiles

Lauren N. Ross
University of California, Irvine
James Woodward
University of Pittsburgh

References found in this work

The Cement of the Universe.John Earman & J. L. Mackie - 1976 - Philosophical Review 85 (3):390.
The cement of the universe, a study of causation.J. Mackie - 1975 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 165 (2):179-179.

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