Ontology (philosophy of medicine) is currently perceived as the solution of first resort for all problems related to biomedical intervention and the use of description logics is seen as a minimal requirement on adequate ontology-based systems. Contrary to common conceptions, however, description logics alone are not able to prevent incorrect representations; this is because they do not come with a theory indicating what is computed by using them, just as classical arithmetic does not tell us anything about the entities that are added or subtracted. In this paper we shall show that ontology is indeed an essential part of any solution to the problems of medical terminology – but only if it is understood in the right sort of way. Modern socio‐cultural studies of medicine demonstrate the symbolic character of much of medical reality. This symbolic reality can be appreciated as mediating the traditional division of medicine into biophysical and human sciences. Comparative studies of medical systems offer a general model for medicine as a human science. Medicine's symbolic reality also forms a bridge between cultural and psycho-physiological phenomena; the basis for psychosomatic and socioso‐matic pathology and therapy. This in turn becomes a central problem for medical sociological theory and for a philosophical reinvestigation of medicine
