Towards an integrative view of explanation in human gut microbiome research

Description

Experimental studies associate changing microbiomes with various healthy and diseased human phenotypes. Microbiomes are now integrated into the One Health concept, which considers the interconnections of animals, plants, humans and their shared environment to achieve better health outcomes. Clear explanations are rendered difficult by such complex and multilevel systems, initiating philosophical discussions about explanations, especially causal explanations. First, I show that microbiology is not only a medical discipline. Parallel to the studies of the pathologist Koch, microbial ecology founders, Sergei Winogradsky and Martinus Beijerinck, studied microorganisms to learn about their role and behavior in their environment. Contemporary research in human gut microbiomes is considered part of both disciplines. Second, I argue that explanation in microbial ecology adopts a mechanistic-like strategy, which is not based on Koch’s postulates, but where the activity of the microbial community is explained by the interactions of the components of that community. For example, Winogradsky described how two groups of microorganisms interact with available resources and other microorganisms to explain the natural phenomenon of nitrification in the soil (transformation of ammonium to nitrate). Finally, I develop a more comprehensive and encompassing account of explanation in human gut microbiome research. I propose to apply Craver’s mechanistic account to this discipline as he aims to understand constitutive explanation or “how the behavior of a whole is explained in terms of the behavior of its parts” (Craver, 2007, 160). The advantage of this account is that it can bind both explanatory traditions of microbiology by integrating the interventionist account in the selection of relevant causes. I argue that such an account is needed to accommodate contemporary appeal to a more holistic view, such as the One Health concept.

Period	09 Jul 2023
Event title	International Society for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology biennial meeting
Event type	Conference
Location	CanadaShow on map