The concept of disease in the era of prediction

Abstract

Individualized Medicine is often accused of causing an extension of the concept of disease. It would thereby promote a pathologization of life, which is problematic in several respects. This critical query should be taken seriously. The aim of the innovative research in the field of biomarker-based predictive medicine is to increase the accuracy in predicting the onset of a disease. For those who are affected, the predictive knowledge often creates a state of uncertainty and stress, which could easily be construed as a disease. The rapidly growing amount of information about dispositions to disease creates new situations of decision-making and responsibility while also leading to the emergence of new personal and social patterns of identification (e.g., ‘healthy ill’ persons). The following section discusses the allegation of pathologization through an examination of the disease theories by Christopher Boorse, Peter Hucklenbroich, and Dirk Lanzerath. How is the relationship between disposition and disease interpreted in those representative theories? What are the consequences of this medical theory debate for the allegation that Individualized Medicine leads to pathologization of life?