Ben
You sparked off a fascinating thread, and I would like to add a new dimension:
words change their meaning to meet the understanding and needs of the
times.
In his two books, "The Emergence of Probability" and "The Taming of Chance",
Ian Hacking shows how the meaning of evidence, probablity, and chance
changed as our understanding developed in Europe over the past three or four
hundred years. The argument is quite subtle and backed up with detailed
facts, so I won't attempt to summarize it.
The point I want to make is that it doesn't matter if Italian, German, Polish, ...
do not have exact translations for "evidence". As along as they can settle on
a word, the most useful meaning will accrete to it. This is how all languages
grow; committees and dictionaries cannot stop languages from changing.
I found Hacking's description of how "probable" changed its meaning quite
fascinating. Until the mid 1700-s ", evidence that something was probable was
that an authority such as the bible or Aristotle said it was the case.
Probability had nothing to do with facts. This is where the PostModernists are
now in their understanding of evidence.
Michael
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 07:05:53 +0100, gsp-gcl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Great, Agustin!
>
>I think you really hit the point.
>
>Giuseppe
>
>Giuseppe Giocoli
>EBM Working Group
>AMCLI - Milano - Italia
>
>> Those who usually manage (practice or are really involved in) the
concept say Medicina Basada en la Evidencia knowing that it is not the exact
term without problem, some others seems that made a profession of this
controversie.
>
>> Agustín Gómez de la Cámara
>
>
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>From : "Evidence based health (EBH)" EVIDENCE-BASED-
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>To : [log in to unmask]
>Cc :
>Date : Thu, 8 Jan 2009 17:40:01 +0100
>Subject : Re: another epistemological question..
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>> Dear Ben,
>>
>> I had the opportunity to translate into the Spanish language the
>> first Sackett and Muir Grey EBM books( I?m not professional translator
>> but clinical epidemiologist). We pragmatically adopt the term
>> ?Medicina Basada en la Evidencia? and it is the most frequent term
>> used now all around the world of Spanish speaking countries. We knew
>> that it is not the exact translation but it is the easier solution and
>> it even works better than other words. There are still long lasting
>> controversies because in Spanish language ?evidencia? ( evidence)
>> means, let?s say, something self-evident, so clear that it does not
>> need proof . Alternatives were, as you mention, proof-based medicine,
>> facts-based medicine but they don?t succeed. Those who usually
>> manage ( practice or are really involved in) the concept say
>> Medicina Basada en la Evidencia knowing that it is not the exact term
>> without problem, some others seems that made a profession of this
>> controversie.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>> Agustín Gómez de la Cámara
>> Clinical Epidemiologist
>> Former Head of the Spanish EBM network
>>
>> "Djulbegovic, Benjamin" <[log in to unmask]> escribió:
>>
>> > Dear all
>> >
>> > On several occasions I have been told by those who teach EBM in
>> > non-English speaking countries that there is no adequate translation
>> > of term "evidence-based medicine". EBM is typically translated as
>> > "fact-based medicine" or "proof-based medicine". Since this is very
>> > much international discussion group, I wonder if those colleagues
>> > who work in non-English speaking countries may comment on linguistic
>> > meaning (and translation) of EBM in their languages. This may shed
>> > some light on ongoing epistemological discussion....
>> >
>> > ben
>> >
>> >
>> > Benjamin Djulbegovic, MD, PhD
>> > Professor of Medicine and Oncology
>> > Co-Director of Clinical Translation Science Institute
>> > Director of Center for Evidence-based Medicine and Health Outcomes
Research
>> >
>> >
>> > Mailing Address:
>> > USF Health Clinical Research
>> > 12901 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC02
>> > Tampa, FL 33612
>> >
>> > Phone # 813-396-9178
>> > Fax # 813-974-5411
>> >
>> > e-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>> >
>> >
>> > ______________________
>> >
>> > Campus Address: MDC02
>> >
>> > Office Address :
>> > 13101 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard,
>> > CMS3057
>> > Tampa, FL 33612
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>> Este mensaje fue enviado desde Webmail Red de Investigacion del
>> Hospital 12 de Octubre (Madrid)
>>
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