1. Science versus Pseudoscience in medicine Alireza Monajemi, MD-PhD Department of philosophy of science IHCS 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

2. Demarcation problem in Philosophy of science NormativeDescriptive 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

3. Demarcation Science Pseudo- science 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

4. Paradigm shift in demarcation problem in health issues Philosophical problem Pragmatic problem 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

5. Those who practice medicine must also wrestle with the question ‘what is science?’ when they decide whether to use a particular diagnostic test, drug, or therapy. 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

6. It almost goes without saying that a great deal hinges on the distinction between scientific and unscientific medicine, since medical decisions have direct, immediate, and significant effects on human health and well being. ‘Good’ medicine can save lives, but ‘bad’ medicine can kill. 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

7. In medicine, the demarcation problem often boils down to finding a way to distinguish between ‘scientific medicine’ and ‘alternative medicine’ (Angell and Kassirer, 1998 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

8. Depending on how you view it, alternative medicine could be classified as ‘junk science’, ‘fringe science’, ‘weak science’, or ‘pseudo science’. 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

9. Pragmatic approach to demarcation Demarcation Legal issues Accreditation Research funding 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

10. Although there has been considerable debate about whether the practice of medicine is a science or an art, most clinicians and theorists agree that science plays an important role in medical practice (Little, 1995). 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

11. Medicine is not equal to applied biology! 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

12. Science and medicine Clinical practice Clinical science Basic science 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

13. Basic science Causal Explanation and predication Pure controlled setting General laws Practice Efficacy Very limited controlled setting case 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

14. Claim 1 About efficacy or explanation? 2 Meaningful Discard all tautological claim 3 Falsifiable 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital

15. Claim 4 Empiric 5 Authentic presentation 9/23/2015Shariati Hospital