Predicibility of Scientific Medicine. 1. The Role of Chaotic and Evolutionary Processes

Abstract

The deterministic processes, whether mechanicistic or statistic but not chaotic, have a high degree of predicibility in contrast with evolutionary processes. Following the methodological principle of C. Bernard of diseases as alterations of biochemical and physiological processes, medicine has been assigned to the area of the functional biological, i.e. to the area of the deterministic processes. However in many cases the evolution of pathological processes is hardly predictable due to many reasons. The first is the exponential evolution of many physiological processes, a reason for which the evolution tends to become chaotic. The second is that, although deterministic, frequency and distribution of diseases require a statistical approach. The third and most important reason is that a large number of pathological processes are of evolutionary nature and are therefore accompanied by the continuous generation of new information. Some examples of evolutionary processes, such the tumor trasformations and the autoimmune diseases are discussed but it is suggested that the field of evolutionary medicine will rapidly expand.