In their conceptions and explanations of illness and in their reactions to it, individuals and groups attempt, and expect, to be coherent. They try to present a view which makes sense to themselves and which is also clear to others who may find it difficult to understand why healers, patients and other interested parties follow a particular line of reasoning. When these arguments are seen by contemporaries to be well founded, this can often be taken as a sign of conformity to an acceptable form of reasoning which fits into a particular ‘cultural repertoire’. Individuals have a degree of liberty in the way they construct their arguments and select.
