Applying Aristotle's doctrine of causation to Aboriginal and biomedical understandings of diabetes

Aristotle's doctrine on causation identifies four distinct types of cause: formal, efficient, material, and final. Science is said to have differentia ted itself from philosophy by concentrating solely on efficient causes. Non etheless, when applied to narratives of causation, Aristotle's doctrine pro vides a useful heuristic to explore the issues such as Aboriginal and biome dical perceptions of causal factors for non-insulin dependent diabetes mell itus (NIDDM) on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. This paper also outlines two di vergent causal stories for NIDDM and the associated moral positions regardi ng the `righteous' pursuit of health. Biomedical narratives emphasize the r ole of lifestyle factors, particularly the impact of obesity, in causation. In the case of diabetes, the moral course of action is pursued through lif estyle choices. In contrast, Aboriginal narratives emphasize the role of ge netics in causation. These narratives describe diabetes as collectively aff ecting Aboriginal people - thus identifying Aboriginal people as different. Aboriginal frameworks for health venture beyond the 'efficient' cause of b iomedicine and thus the moral pursuit of health within this framework invol ves returning to an initial state of health and purity through traditional knowledge.