Limits of the Self

Immunology and Biological Identity
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-0-19-977528-6
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 528 g

What counts as an individual in the living world? What does it mean for a living thing to remain the same through time, while constantly changing? These questions are the province of immunology, one of the most dynamic fields in biology. Immunology answers these questions with its theory of "self" and "nonself" which has dominated the field since the 1940s. Thomas Pradeu argues that this theory is inadequate, because immune responses to self constituents and immune tolerance of
foreign entities are the rule, not the exception. Instead Pradeu advances an alternative theory, the continuity theory, which offers a new way to answer the question of what triggers an immune response. It also echoes the recent realization that all organisms, and not only higher vertebrates, have an
immune system.
Pradeu's main thesis is that the self-nonself theory should be abandoned, but that immunology still proves to be decisive for delineating the boundaries of the organism. Articulating an evolutionary and an immunological perspective, he offers an original conception of the organism. Tolerance of the fetus by the mother and of countless bacteria on the body's surfaces proves that every organism is heterogeneous, that is, made of entities of different origins. In other words, every organism
appears as a chimera, a mixed living thing-the cohesiveness of which is ensured by the constant action of its immune system.
The Limits of the Self, will be essential reading for anyone interested in the definition of biological individuality and the understanding of the immune system.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pradeu, Thomas

Fachgebiete

• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Klinische und Innere Medizin Immunologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie: Allgemeines, Methoden
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Wissenschaften: Theorie, Epistemologie, Methodik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
1. Immunology, Self and Nonself
2. The Self-Nonself Theory
3. Critique of the Self-Nonself Theory
4. The Continuity Theory
5. Comparing the Continuity Theory to Other Immunological Theories
6. What is An Organism? Immunity and the Individuality of the Organism
Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Thomas Pradeu, Associate Professor in Philosophy of Science, Paris-Sorbonne University, and Translated by Elizabeth Vitanza

Thomas Pradeu is Associate Professor in Philosophy of Science at Paris-Sorbonne University, and Associated research at IHPST Paris. His research deals mainly with the definition of the organism, the notion of biological individuality, and the concept of "self" as it appears in today's immunology.