Biological pathology from an organizational perspective.

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Biology
• Theoretical Biology
• Medical Philosophy

Background:

• Naturalist theories define health as objective, biologically grounded states.
• These theories often center on the concept of biological malfunction to distinguish health from disease.
• Existing naturalist accounts require refinement to fully capture biological normativity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine the concept of biological malfunction within naturalist accounts of disease.
• To develop a novel formulation of malfunction using recent organizational approaches in the philosophy of biology.
• To establish a new conceptual framework for understanding malfunctional behaviors in biological systems.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of naturalist theories of health and disease.
• Application of the organizational approach to functions in the philosophy of biology.
• Focus on the concepts of adaptive regulation and functional presupposition.

Main Results:

• A new conceptual framework for biological malfunction is proposed.
• The framework integrates adaptive regulation and functional presupposition.
• This approach offers a biologically grounded and objectivist characterization of disease.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework provides a robust understanding of biological malfunction.
• It aligns with the embodied normativity of biological organizations.
• This work advances naturalist perspectives on health and disease.