Explaining Cancer - Finding Order in Disorder

This book engages several philosophical questions about cancer: What is cancer? Is it one or many? How do cell and molecular biologists, epidemiologists and evolutionary biologists think about and explain cancer?

List of contents

• Introduction


• Chapter 1: Cancer: Natural, Social and Medical Kind


• Chapter 2: From Disease to Risk


• Chapter 3: Causation, Causal Selection and Causal Parity


• Chapter 4: Evidence and Environmental Epidemiology: A Pragmatic Approach


• Chapter 5: Explaining Cancer from an Evolutionary Perspective


• Chapter 6: Explanation


• Conclusion


• Bibliography


• Index

About the author

Anya Plutynski received her Ph.D. in Philosophy, and her M.A. in Biology, both from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently teaches philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis.

Summary

This book engages several philosophical questions about cancer: What is cancer? Is it one or many? How do cell and molecular biologists, epidemiologists and evolutionary biologists think about and explain cancer?

Additional text

...for those who care about philosophy of science, the book illustrates how cancer can be a rich case study. In addition, the systematic investigation of traditional philosophical debates applied to cancer that Plutynski pursues in this book makes it a great resource for teaching. For those who care about cancer, the book illustrates the need to develop more 'bottom up' philosophical approaches.

Product details

• Authors: Anya Plutynski, Anya (Associate Professor Plutynski, Plutynski Anya
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2022
• EAN: 9780197642504
• ISBN: 978-0-19-764250-4
• No. of pages: 278
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Medicine > Non-clinical medicine; Epidemiology & medical statistics, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, Philosophy of Science, Social & political philosophy, social and political philosophy, Popular philosophy, MEDICAL / Oncology / General, Epidemiology and Medical statistics