Original scientific paper
Normal and Pathological, The constitution of medical and sociological paradigms
Stjepan Orešković
; Department of Medical Sociology, Medical Faculty, University of Zagreb, Zagreb
Abstract
The term sociology was invented by Comte and until quite recent times preserved a strong connection with the style of thinking
characteristic for life sciences. That is not strange because Comte took the terms like homeostasis, therapy, anomaly, heterotaksy, stability, order with continuity, variation, selection, adaptation, differentiation, from physiologist like Bernard and Broussais.
What is normal and what pathological? Who is normal and who average type (Quetelet)? That is central question in medicine
(pathology, psychopathology, physiology, genetics) and also in sociology (normal behaviour, normal organisation, social normality
and abnormality). Social roles are associated with norms, which involve patterns of expectation and patterns of behaviour. Relation
between the norm and the behaviour of a person in this social role is maintained by sanctions against deviations from norm. Illness, sickness and disease are sanctions for deviations from physiological and biological norms. But what means term norm in physiology and psychopathology? The paper answers that question by explaining the constitution of central paradigm in medicine (fiziology, pathofiziology, genetics) and the role of idea of normal and pathological defined as quantitative and functional difference between pathological and normal levels of functioning cells, tissues, organs...
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
154933
URI
Publication date:
31.12.1992.
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