Philosophy of Epidemiology [Paperback]

Epidemiology is one of the fastest growing and increasingly important sciences. This thorough analysis lays out the conceptual foundations of epidemiology, identifying traps and setting out the benefits of properly understanding this fascinating and important discipline, as well as providing the means to do so.Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Glossary 1. Why Philosophy of Epidemiology? 2. Philosophical and Epidemiological Basics 3. The Causal Interpretation Problem 4. Causal Inference, Translation, and Stability 5. Stable Causal Inference 6. Prediction 7. Making and Assessing Epidemiological Predictions 8. Puzzles of Attributability 9. Risk Relativism, Interaction, and the Shadow of Physics 10. Multifactorialism and Beyond 11. Epidemiology and the Law 12. Conclusion: Thinking is Good For You Notes Cases References IndexAlex Broadbent is an Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Formerly he lectured and studied at the University of Cambridge. He is devoted to bringing philosophical reasoning to bear on practical problems, and has published in philosophy, epidemiology and legal theory journals.