Fagan, Melinda (2026) Immunity for non-experts: a philbio proposal. [Preprint]

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Abstract

I propose a conceptual framework aimed at non-expert understanding of immunity and the immune system. Such an account is needed, to replace the prevailing public view that human immune systems can be evaluated in terms of “strong” vs. “weak” defenses against disease. While accessible to common-sense, the prevailing view encourages misunderstanding, contributes to pressing social problems, and is incompatible with our best current scientific and philosophical understanding of immunity. Building on my earlier work on context-dependent understanding, I motivate a new conceptual framework for non-expert understanding of immunity that is accessible to non-experts (i.e., non-technical), engages and respects everyday experience, addresses concerns about bodily autonomy and control, and reflects our best scientific and philosophical theories about immunity and the immune system. Importantly, this conceptual approach treats non-expert understanding as epistemically beneficial in its own right, arising from a two-way mutualistic relation between expert and non-expert perspectives. The result is a simple conceptual framework consisting of three core ideas: immunity is yours, efficient, and specific (YES). The YES schema is compatible with current insights from theoretical immunology and can help address current social problems associated with vaccine skepticism and hesitancy. I conclude with some implications of this view for recent philosophical accounts of understanding.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Fagan, Melinda B 0009-0002-1154-2385
Keywords:	Immunity; immunology; understanding; Vaccines; Public understanding of science; experts; non-experts
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Medicine > Health and Disease General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science
Depositing User:	Dr Melinda Fagan
Date Deposited:	28 Feb 2026 13:35
Last Modified:	28 Feb 2026 13:35
Item ID:	28384
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Medicine > Health and Disease General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science
Date:	10 January 2026
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28384

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