Abstract

From a phenomenological perspective, clinical practice features a special type of uncertainty that in the present article is characterized as “fundamental uncertainty.” Unlike routine uncertainty and acrisia, the fundamental uncertainty is due to the abductive reasoning inherent to the clinical process. This type of reasoning differs from deductive necessity and inductive probability in the direction of “the best explanation.” In the light of “the best clinical explanation” and “the optimal clinical action” the four stages of clinical practice: anamnesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis are viewed. Their interconnection within a teleological and reflective circularity is underlined. The intersubjective character of the transcendental constitution of all stages of the clinical process is taken into account.