Abstractions, parts, and explanations in cancer sciences

Autores

  • Octavio Valadez-Blanco Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/S1678-31662016000100011

Palavras-chave:

Abstraction. Pluralism. Explanation. Cancer. Reification

Resumo

Most often our societies must deal with complex problems that require the look and involvement of multiple scientific and philosophical practice. This is the case of cancer, which is configured as the leading cause of death in the world and as a multifactorial and complex disease. In this paper I recover and use the notion of abstraction worked Levins and Winther who understand it as a necessary moment of science by which parts, wholes and relationships about specific problems are established. Under this view, the plurality of explanations about cancer can be understood as different partition frames, and as the joint and sometimes tension of at least three explanatory projects: the molecular, the epidemiological and the structuralist. In this paper I compare the abstractions that are made from these projects, analyzing his speeches and how they justify their explanatory power. The notion of abstraction allows us to observe how each practice can turn abstractions into concrete realities, and idealizes, that is, reified abstractions that were historically limited, causing detrimental effects on different levels. Thus, this work contributes to a more responsible and pluralistic research about the complex problems such as cancer

Biografia do Autor

  • Octavio Valadez-Blanco, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana
    Investigador posdoctoral. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Cuajimalpa, México

Publicado

2016-06-06

Edição

Seção

Artigos

Como Citar

Abstractions, parts, and explanations in cancer sciences. (2016). Scientiae Studia, 14(1), 231-254. https://doi.org/10.11606/S1678-31662016000100011