Public Communication About the Causes of Disease: The Rhetoric of Responsibility

It is argued that although attributions of responsibility may appear to be medical or scientific claims, such claims are better understood rhetorically, as means of influencing attitudes and behavior.

Abstract

Beliefs about the causes of disease and hence about responsibility for disease are central to all cultural understandings of the human condition. This essay explores how public communication influences such beliefs. We argue that although attributions of responsibility may appear to be medical or scientific claims, such claims are better understood rhetorically, as means of influencing attitudes and behavior. After discussing three nontechnical audiences and related exigencies to which messages about causes of disease are often addressed, we analyze how attributions of responsibility are accomplished in selected examples of public communication. In closing, we discuss implications for developing a model of public communication about causes of disease and propose research to test and refine the model.