Idealization in pharmacology and pharmacy: Symbol of the chemical formula of one molecule of a substance and a real pharmaceutical product

Abstract

The essence of the two levels of information used in modern pharmacy, pharmacology, and medicine for operations related to theoretical reasoning about medicines and the actual practice of their use for treating specific cases is fundamentally different. In particular, studies have analyzed the essence of theoretical information about medicines and the norms of their use in accordance with medical care standards. Information about medicines and standards of medical care, which dominate textbooks, reference books, encyclopedias, scientific articles , and normative and technical documents, is built on the idealized essence of chemically pure substances and their interaction with an idealized virtual patient. Accordingly, in the fields of pharmacy, pharmacology, and chemistry, physics, and materials science, researchers have traditionally represented chemical elements (and drugs) by certain chemical formulas, names, and symbols for their molecules. Moreover, in pharmacy and pharmacology, the structural formula of one molecule of only one chemical substance belonging to the group of the so-called main active substances most often plays this role. Generally, this chemical symbol of its molecule is identified with the real substance itself. It is assumed that the substance in question is of ideal high quality, is completely free of any impurities, is not combined with other substances, and does not represent a certain pharmaceutical product (it is not a tablet, not a solution, not an ointment, not an aerosol, etc.), and is not manufactured by a certain pharmaceutical company according to a certain recipe. Moreover, modern pharmaceutical products are not separate molecules, not pure chemical reagents, but all sorts of mixtures of different substances of different quality in different ratios. In addition, each pharmaceutical product of each manufacturing plant and each series number has inherent and unique mechanical, physical, chemical, and physicochemical properties and quality indicators. Therefore, the idealized essence of drugs is far from that of real pharmaceutical products. The chemical name and chemical formula are symbols of one molecule of a chemical element, reflecting its idealized chemical essence, but not the essence of a real “tablet”, “ampule”, and/or “tube” with it. In turn, the virtual patient of known sex, average age, average health status, and a body weight of approximately 70 kg implied by the standards of medical care is just an idealized object of interaction with an idealized “medicine”. In this regard, the study of the relationship between the idealized and real drugs and patients is a crucial part of the problem of the relationship between theory and reality in pharmacy, pharmacology, and medicine.

Keywords

philosophy / medicine / chemically pure substance / idealized world / virtual object / real product

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