FROM THE THREE ENGLISH NAMES FOR A MALADY TO A THEORETICAL STRUCTURE OF FOUR NAMES

A careful examination of the literature on the subject reveals that contemporary English people employ at least three distinct terms for the same substantial notion: disease, illness, sickness. We review the authors who have comparatively defined the first three terms, —now consolidated within the medical-scientific lexicon—and in addition we propose a fourth name, unhealthiness, which should be placed alongside the other names. Today it is underappreciated by the healthcare system, yet it is interesting because conveys a global perspective: it expresses the inner experience of a person situated within relational context. Of it we discuss some definitions given in the literature. Drawing on etymological dictionaries, we quickly reconstruct the time of introduction of each term into common usage as well as its frequency in the circulating literature, and moreover we enlighten thereby a historical evolution of the first three terms in relation to the prevailing cultural framework. It was important to recognize four terms also because they may be opposed in pairs, giving rise to two dichotomies: (1) to derive all from few a priori principles versus seeking a method to solve a problem; and (2) invasive versus non-invasive nature of therapeutic means. By providing a basis for evaluation these dichotomies reduce the current theoretical vagueness of theoretical medicine.