“How physicians approach patients and the problems they present is much influenced by the conceptual models around which their knowledge is organized.” (Engel, 1980, p. 535).
In this talk I will introduce the binocular model of plural medicine as a novel analytical tool for an improved understanding of the multiple facets of medicine. The model represents the idea of pluralism with science, which I describe as the broad and non-hierarchical understanding of medicine as an epistemic practice that (potentially) involves all aspects of life, to which subjective and relational facets are as integral as biomedical factors and perspectives. The model is based on a distinction between plural perspectives (by different actors in the health ecosystem) and plural aspects (the different bodies of knowledge involved in the health ecosystem) and tracks their effects on each other over time. The model is inspired by the biopsychosocial model and the triad model of disease, illness, and sickness, but also differs from them. In the talk I will discusess the weaknesses I recognize in the existing models and will show how the use of the binocular model allows for more nuanced discussions, which can lead to better decision-making and amelioration of epistemic injustice in health care. I will further suggest this model is a better fit for interprofessional education and collaborative health practices.