Every effect must have a cause — it is almost a canon of modern science. But a living system is not a row of billiard balls, and the search for single causes may be the wrong search entirely.
Clearly there must be a cause for every effect. That concept of causes leading to effects is almost a canon of modern scientific understanding, and seems so obviously true that to question it may even seem like heresy. And yet in this article I want to explore this statement, and even throw in some serious concerns about it.
Why is this important? While here I am looking at the concept of causes in medicine, it applies to most other disciplines too. If there are no preceding causes for anything happening in the body, then that makes management more difficult and confusing, does it not? It would also change how we think of ill-health and its progression to death.
