1,720,983 research outputs found
Interaction. A case of ‘epistemological exaptation’ in life sciences
No full textThe concept of interaction is crucial in current life sciences due to its wide use in various fields such as genetics, epigenetics, biomedicine, and epidemiology. Nevertheless, the meaning of the term is ambiguous and its use is subject to criticism. Its generality and cross-disciplinary use could lead to conceiving it as abstract or metaphorical and in epidemiology was object of debate for 40 years. This work aims to outline a preliminary historical-epistemological analysis tracing the scientific background of the concept of interaction. Specifically: it will discuss how the notion of interaction was grounded in early 20th century physics and Gestalttheorie, and then moved into the field of biology; therefore, common patterns in the various definitions of interaction and the epistemological space they have produced through their respective historical correspondences will be pointed out. This is what the author defines the «epistemological exaptation» of the concept of interaction
Pre-Vision and Pre-Vention. Labor, Environment and Medicine in Bernardino Ramazzini’s ‘De Morbis Artificum Diatriba’
No full text“De morbis artificum diatriba” published in 1700 by the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) is the first systematic investigation about the relationship between jobs, bodies and diseases of the artisans. In the actual renaissance of studies about Ramazzini, this article outlines some pioneering epidemiological concepts from an epistemological viewpoint as well as some key words that for their explanatory and rhetoric power shed light on the essential innovative elements of the Diatriba and on the main features of Ramazzini’s life
Metaphors, risk and blind spots in health communication. The case of «gene-editing» and CRISPR-Cas9 technology
No full textThe well-known «gene-editing» metaphor assumed center stage again in the recent debate on CRISPR gene-editing technology, heralded in 2015 as the «Scientific Breakthrough of the Year». CRISPR’s precision, simplicity and low-cost promise to overturn the common idea of genetic therapy as expensive and elitist. The debate is heated and blooms with a profusion of bioethical issues on rights, health costs and on the risk of spreading “eugenic” gene-editing practices. Metaphors play a key role here, both in popularization and as conceptual tools. However, this may bias communication and understanding, bringing about a dialectic between the risk and the responsibility involved in the use of metaphor in science. The article shows how conceptual metaphors such as the «body-machine» and «genes as atoms of life», cornerstones of Western medicine, frame the theoretical background of the CRISPR debate, contributing to foster a more responsible use of metaphor in the public domain
Pre-occupazione e pre-venzione. Lavoro, ambiente e medicina nel “De morbis artificum diatriba” di Bernardino Ramazzini
Full text link"De morbis artificum diatriba", pubblicato nel 1700 dal medico italiano Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) è la prima indagine sistematica sulla relazione tra lavoro, corpi e malattie degli artigiani. Nell'attuale rinascita degli studi su Ramazzini, questo articolo delinea alcuni concetti epidemiologici pionieristici dal punto di vista epistemologico e alcune parole chiave che, per il loro potere esplicativo e retorico, gettano luce sugli elementi innovativi essenziali della Diatriba e sui tratti salienti della vita di Ramazzini
The rise and fall of the cause in aetiological models. Influences, gene, environment
No full textUnderstanding the transformations in the history of ætiological models means understanding also the changing of the notion of cause. From a historical-epistemological standpoint recent ætiological models broke the monotheistic concept of cause and blurred it in a pluralist pantheon of interacting risk factors, the determinants of health and disease (genetics, behavioral, environmental and social). However, plural ætiology centered on the role of the interaction is not novel in medical history, especially when dealing with hereditary diseases. Since antiquity hereditary matters comprised a variety of causes, or in uences (astrological, constitutional, congenital and environmental in general) at the crossroad of the nature- nurture interaction. As result of the FIRB project “For a Lexicon of genetics and its degenerations from Hippocrates to ICD-10” emphasizing the dialogue between ancient and modern medical concepts, I discuss here the main shifts of the notion of cause addressing generation and hereditary theories by means of a two step-analysis. In the rst part, I will outline the notions of in uence and interaction highlighting the main theoretical turning points about medical causality. In the second part, I will review the nature-nurture distinction in the eld of heredity underlining the dichotomy between genetic and environmental factors throughout times. As a matter of fact, heredity reveals a most suitable tool for explaining the development of ætiological paradigms in the light of the nature-nurture debate
La ricerca di un modello neurofisiologico per il rispecchiamento con l’altro: la polarità del Mirror Neuron System e il caso dell’autismo
No full textMirror neurons and mirror neuron system (MNS) researches have had a great diffusion
in the last years also in a trans-disciplinary direction (e.g. Rizzolatti & Sinigaglia,
2006). After taking into account the analysis of the metaphor of the mirror
the article underlines the relevancy of some ambiguity factors intrinsic in the process
of understanding other’s actions and behavior; and we found that these factors have
not been considered by the MNS theory. Such reflections seem near to what has
been enlightened by the recent discussion about the application of MNS theory to
understand the behavioral symptoms in autism. The critics that we have underlined
point out the fact that before reducing to unitary description autism disorders it is
opportune to proceed trough a development of MNS theory in its complexity
Metaphor. The good argument in science communication
Full text linkThe relation between metaphor and argumentation in science communication is becoming a crucial tool for critical metaphor studies. In this article, by means of a crossed analysis (epistemological, cognitive and linguistic), I focus especially on a peculiar dynamic of metaphor use in scientific communication showing opposite, paradoxical attitudes towards the use of metaphors, respectively, ubiquity vs. invisibility, inclination vs. resistance, deliberate vs. non-deliberate. In this way, an overall philosophical reflection about the underlying reasons for the ambivalence in the use of metaphor in scientific communication would be proposed and discussed
Ricciardi Angelo, Voce per Il Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
No full textRICCIARDI, Angelo. – Nacque a Ginosa, oggi in provincia di Taranto, il 5 febbraio 1872. Dopo la laurea alla facoltà di medicina e chirurgia presso la Regia Università di Napoli diventa ufficiale sanitario del Comune di Ginosa per 32 anni. Si descrive la sua vita e la sua produzione scientifica
Introduction. The culture of predictability and the nature of the unpredictable. Life sciences at the crossroad
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