At 01:13 PM 9/17/03 +0100, Piersante Sestini wrote:
>Roy Poses wrote:
>>
>> professes extreme relativism. This notion that there is no truth out there
>> is profoundly anti-scientific. (Plus, would you believe anyone who starts
>> out by saying there is no such thing as truth?)
>
>I apologize for jumping in after having been away from the list for
>several months, but I would like to make the point that we are searching
>for the best available evidence, not for the truth. Indeed, the whole
>process of EBM/HC is to me the best way to deal with a world of
>uncertainity, where the choice supported by the best evidence today
>might be different tomorrow. Or maybe even today, for a patient with
>different preferences and expectations.
>
>So it is not disturbing to me if somebody does or does not believe that
>the truth exists, as far as he/she acknowledges that criteria for
>identifying the best available evidence "around the care of our patient"
>(to use postmodern jargon :-) do exist, within the specific framework of
>the preferences and values of our patient.
But how would you judge what evidence is the "best available?" Why try to
find the best available evidence unless best available means most likely to
reflect the truth?
...............................................................
Roy M. Poses MD
Director of Research, General Internal Medicine
Brown University Center for Primary Care and Prevention
Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
111 Brewster St.
Pawtucket
RI 02860
USA
401 729-3400
fax 401 729-2494
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