Kranke, Nina (2021) Explanatory Integration and Integrated Explanations in Darwinian Medicine and Evolutionary Medicine. [Preprint]

	Text Kranke_Does Darwinian Medicine Foster Interdisciplinary Integration of Medicine and Evolutionary Biology_preprint.odt Download (46kB)
	Text Kranke_Explanatory Integration and Integrated Explanations in Darwinian Medicine and Evolutionary Medicine.docx Download (56kB)

Abstract

Recently, two research traditions that bring together evolutionary biology and medicine, i.e., Darwinian medicine and evolutionary medicine, have been identified. In this paper, I analyse these two research traditions with respect to explanatory and interdisciplinary integration. My analysis shows that Darwinian medicine does not integrate medicine and evolutionary biology in any strong sense but incorporates evolutionary concepts into medicine. I also show that backward-looking explanations in Darwinian medicine are not integrated proximate-and-ultimate explanations but functional explanations that include reference to evolutionary concepts. Nevertheless, explanations in Darwinian medicine have heuristic roles as they potentially contribute to conceptual change and tie pieces of knowledge from different fields of medical research together. I argue that Darwinian medicine is an interfield that fosters cross-disciplinary exchange between evolutionary biologists and medical researchers and practitioners based on division of labour and separation rather than unity. Research in evolutionary medicine, on the other hand, happens at the intersection of evolutionary biology and medicine where the two disciplines are already integrated and is designed to produce entangled proximate-evolutionary explanations. My analysis thus adds another important aspect to the philosophical discussion of the distinction between Darwinian medicine and evolutionary medicine.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Kranke, Nina nina.kranke@uni-muenster.de
Keywords:	Darwinian medicine, interdisciplinary integration, evolutionary medicine, explanatory integration, old friends hypothesis, experimental evolution, antibiotic resistance
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Medicine
Depositing User:	Nina Kranke
Date Deposited:	10 Apr 2022 18:40
Last Modified:	10 Apr 2022 18:40
Item ID:	20443
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Medicine
Date:	13 December 2021
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20443

Available Versions of this Item

• Does Darwinian Medicine Foster Interdisciplinary Integration of Medicine and Evolutionary Biology? (deposited 28 Nov 2021 05:32)
  • Explanatory Integration and Integrated Explanations in Darwinian Medicine and Evolutionary Medicine. (deposited 19 Dec 2021 06:06)
    • Explanatory Integration and Integrated Explanations in Darwinian Medicine and Evolutionary Medicine. (deposited 10 Apr 2022 18:40) [Currently Displayed]

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item