Suárez, Javier (2023) Masking, Extrinsicness, and the Nature of Dispositions: The Role of Niche Signals in Muscle Stem Cells. [Preprint]

Text Suárez, accepted - Dispositions, Maskers, Stem Cells 20.03.23.docx Download (435kB)

Abstract

I investigate the intrinsic/extrinsic nature of stemness in muscle stem cells (MSC) by relying on recent research on quiescence, with the aim of shedding light on the nature of dispositions and deriving some consequences about stem cells. First, I argue why the study of quiescence is the best available way to establish any claim about the intrinsicness/extrinsicness of stemness at least is some stem cells. Drawing on that, I argue that MSC’s stem capacities result from the combination of intrinsic cues plus extrinsic factors from the stem cell niche, making stemness an extrinsic disposition in MSC. Importantly, it is shown that the niche allows the instantiation of stemness in MSC by acting as a masker of its manifestation. This shows that stemness is, at least in MSC, what I call an extrinsically structurally masked disposition (SMD); that is, a disposition whose instantiation requires, as a condition of possibility, the interaction between the bearer and a masker. Finally, I conclude by suggesting some potential consequences of this observation for the philosophical study of dispositions and for stem cell research.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Suárez, Javier javier.suarez@uj.edu.pl 0000-0001-5851-2277
Keywords:	stem cell; capacity; power; disposition; dispositional antidotes; metaphysics of science; ontology
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics
Depositing User:	Dr Javier Suárez
Date Deposited:	21 Mar 2023 17:13
Last Modified:	21 Mar 2023 17:13
Item ID:	21894
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics
Date:	20 March 2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21894

Available Versions of this Item

• Masking, Extrinsicness, and the Nature of Dispositions: The Role of Niche Signals in Muscle Stem Cells. (deposited 21 Mar 2023 17:13) [Currently Displayed]
  • Masking, Extrinsicness, and the Nature of Dispositions: The Role of Niche Signals in Muscle Stem Cells. (deposited 17 Aug 2023 13:17)

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