The Self of Philosophy and the Self of Immunology

Howes, Moira

doi:10.1353/pbm.1998.0046

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Howes [44] as a philosopher posits that the “self” as it is treated in philosophy and immunology, “must have some stable core, essence or foundation that enables it to be reidentified through time.”…”

Section: The Competing Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This permits the “self” to be dethroned as no more than a useful metaphor, certainly of no import for immunologists. Howes [44] on the other hand, sits on a fence, concluding that although “ the self ” is still a viable concept, it may no longer be of use to immunologists.”…”

Section: The Competing Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ARA model at the moment is the only one that confronts the mechanism for the immune system. Models that deny the need for a somatic learning process or that bury the problem in complexity, or in semantics, or in analogies are destined for the archives of history [18] or the debates of philosophy [44,45]. For the immune system, when the self becomes an autoimmune target, evolutionary selection operates to correct the mechanism that attacks it.…”

Section: The Competing Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolutionary context for a self–nonself discrimination

Cohn

2010

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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This essay was written to illustrate how one might think about the immune system. The formulation of valid theories is the basic component of how-to-think because the reduction of large and complex data sets by the use of logic into a succinct model with predictability and explanatory power, is the only way that we have to arrive at “understanding.” Whether it is to achieve effective manipulation of the system or for pure pleasure, “understanding” is a universally agreed upon goal. It is in the nature of science that theories are there to be disproven. An experimentally disproven theory is a successful one. As they fail experimental test one by one, we end up with a default theory, that is, one that has yet to fail. Here using the self-nonself discrimination as an example, how-to-think as I see it, will be illustrated.

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Section: The Competing Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Competing Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Competing Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolutionary context for a self–nonself discrimination

Cohn

2010

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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“…7 For a contrary view, defending the use of philosophical-psychological terminology of self-nonself and intentionality in immunology, consult Howes 1998. 125-126). Tauber and Pradeu would probably argue that "recognition" is a psychological term, not a biological or immunological one, which renders such a use of it as a mistake or error.…”

Section: Matzinger's Danger Model and Its Contribution To The Self-nomentioning

confidence: 99%

Singularity and Uniqueness: Why Is Our Immune System Subject to Psychological and Cognitive Traits?

Gilead

2020

Synthese Library

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Immunologists use psychological and cognitive terms to describe and explain the behavior of our immune system. Do they use them metaphorically or literally? In this paper I show that on the grounds of some psychophysical assumptions, the uniqueness of each person (or self) as an individual organism necessarily corresponds to the singularity of each person as a psychological subject. On the basis of these assumptions, immunologists, irrespective of their various conceptual frames, are entitled to ascribe psychological and cognitive traits to our immune system and its behavior. Immunologists are allowed to do so because each immune system of any higher, unique individual organism corresponds to psychological traits, which are ascribable only to persons, each of whom is a singular being. This correspondence is necessarily compatible with the psychophysical unity or inseparability. Furthermore, the psychological or cognitive traits pertain to the immune system require no consciousness. In the case of artificial immune systems, in contrast, the application of psychological or cognitive terms is only metaphorical, for each such system is not unique but it is duplicable or replicable. Only the immune system of unique individual organisms that as psychological subjects are singular beings-i.e. persons-can be subject, literally or non-metaphorically, to psychological and cognitive terms.

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“…Both Philosophy and Immunology are concerned with "the inside and outside realities." Both Philosophy and Immunology are concerned with the Self (Grabar, 1974;Vaz and Varela, 1978;Howes, 1998;Ohashi, 2002), i.e., "the conditions of identity that make one subject of experience distinct from all the other. "…”

Section: Philosophy and Immunology: Similarities And Overlapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quisquis Amat Valeat! (Whoever Loves, May He be Well) Why Love and Passion Are Important for the Well-Being of the Immune System

D’Acquisto

2019

Front. Educ.

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Quisquis amat valeat; pereat qui non-scit amare; bis tanti pereat, quisquis amare vetat"-(Whoever loves, may he be well; may he perish who does not know how to love; may he perish twice as much whoever forbids loving). This graffiti was found in the old city of Pompei. The author is unknown. Possibly a poet but quite possibly an ordinary citizen who in the spur of their passion wanted to share with everyone a pearl of wisdom. Amare in Latin is "to love" and, as in English, it is not just about sex or romance, but also about passion for a cause or an ideal. The Latins knew that to be in love, to have a passion, is to be healthy in the body and as well as in the mind. In this article, I hypothesize that the lack of passion and love in life is one of the main causes of modern diseases and specifically immune/inflammatory diseases. I will explore in layman terms the limitations of specifically focusing on controlling bodily functions without considering the social and emotional dimensions of one's life. Lastly, I will highlight the importance of cooperative research, engagement with the public and education as the way forward for a more effective and democratic model for new socially inclusive therapies.

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The Self of Philosophy and the Self of Immunology

Cited by 10 publications

References 16 publications

The evolutionary context for a self–nonself discrimination

The evolutionary context for a self–nonself discrimination

Singularity and Uniqueness: Why Is Our Immune System Subject to Psychological and Cognitive Traits?

Quisquis Amat Valeat! (Whoever Loves, May He be Well) Why Love and Passion Are Important for the Well-Being of the Immune System

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