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[Causality, Evidence, and Subjectivity: Paul Martini's Methodological Critique of Psychosomatic Medicine].

Authors :
Hofer HG
Source :
NTM [NTM] 2021 Dec; Vol. 29 (4), pp. 387-416. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Nov 04.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

The 1949 congress of internal medicine saw a heated and widely perceived controversy on epistemological issues of psychosomatic medicine. This article begins by outlining the place and significance of the congress in post-war history and tracing the course of the debate. The positions of the proponents of psychosomatic medicine, Viktor von Weizsäcker and Alexander Mitscherlich, are reconstructed, as well as those of the internist Paul Martini, who offered fundamental criticisms on the basis of his methodology of clinical research. In a second step, the respective different understandings of causality, evidence, and subjectivity are elaborated and contextualized. A special focus is on Martini's explicit use of these terms as well as his further research initiatives. Finally, I argue that "1949" can be analyzed as the culmination of an ongoing controversy about scientific evidence in clinical medicine that spanned several decades with its participants and levels of reference.<br /> (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Details

Language :
German
ISSN :
1420-9144
Volume :
29
Issue :
4
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
NTM
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
34735582
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00048-021-00316-5