Philosophers of medicine have formulated different accounts of the concept of disease. Which concept of disease one assumes has implications for what conditions count as diseases and, by extension, who may be regarded as having a disease (disease judgements) and for who may be accorded the social privileges and personal responsibilities associated with being sick (sickness judgements). In this article, we consider an ideal diagnostic test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection with respect to four groups of people—positive and asymptomatic; positive and symptomatic; negative; and untested—and show how different concepts of disease impact on the disease and sickness judgements for these groups. The suggestion is that sickness judgements and social measures akin to those experienced during the current COVID-19 outbreak presuppose a concept of disease containing social (risk of) harm as a component. We indicate the problems that arise when adopting this kind of disease concept beyond a state of emergency.

Amoretti, M., Lalumera, E. (2020). The concept of disease in the time of COVID-19. THEORETICAL MEDICINE AND BIOETHICS, 41(5-6), 203-221 [10.1007/s11017-021-09540-5].

The concept of disease in the time of COVID-19

Lalumera, E
Co-primo
2020

Abstract

Philosophers of medicine have formulated different accounts of the concept of disease. Which concept of disease one assumes has implications for what conditions count as diseases and, by extension, who may be regarded as having a disease (disease judgements) and for who may be accorded the social privileges and personal responsibilities associated with being sick (sickness judgements). In this article, we consider an ideal diagnostic test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection with respect to four groups of people—positive and asymptomatic; positive and symptomatic; negative; and untested—and show how different concepts of disease impact on the disease and sickness judgements for these groups. The suggestion is that sickness judgements and social measures akin to those experienced during the current COVID-19 outbreak presuppose a concept of disease containing social (risk of) harm as a component. We indicate the problems that arise when adopting this kind of disease concept beyond a state of emergency.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Covid-19, philosophy, disease, epistemology, pandemic, diagnostic test;
English
16-feb-2021
2020
41
5-6
203
221
open
Amoretti, M., Lalumera, E. (2020). The concept of disease in the time of COVID-19. THEORETICAL MEDICINE AND BIOETHICS, 41(5-6), 203-221 [10.1007/s11017-021-09540-5].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/303182
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