Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
doi:10.22028/D291-30565
Title: | Disambiguating “Mechanisms” in Pharmacy: Lessons from Mechanist Philosophy of Science |
Author(s): | Abdin, Ahmad Yaman Jacob, Claus Kästner, Lena |
Language: | English |
Title: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Volume: | 17 |
Issue: | 6 |
Publisher/Platform: | MDPI |
Year of Publication: | 2020 |
Free key words: | arrows Baumkuchen model causation mode of action multi-level mechanisms new mechanist philosophy pharmacodynamics |
DDC notations: | 100 Philosophy 500 Science 600 Technology 610 Medicine and health |
Publikation type: | Journal Article |
Abstract: | Talk of mechanisms is ubiquitous in the natural sciences. Interdisciplinary fields such as biochemistry and pharmacy frequently discuss mechanisms with the assistance of diagrams. Such diagrams usually depict entities as structures or boxes and activities or interactions as arrows. While some of these arrows may indicate causal or componential relations, others may represent temporal or operational orders. Importantly, what kind of relation an arrow represents may not only vary with context but also be underdetermined by empirical data. In this manuscript, we investigate how an analysis of pharmacological mechanisms in terms of producing and underlying mechanisms—as discussed in the contemporary philosophy of science—may shed light on these issues. Specifically, we shall argue that while pharmacokinetic mechanisms usually describe causal chains of production, pharmacodynamics tends to focus on mechanisms of action underlying the in vivo effects of a drug. Considering the action of thyroid gland hormones in the human body as a case study, we further demonstrate that pharmacodynamic schemes tend to incorporate entities and interactions on multiple levels. Yet, traditional pharmacodynamic schemes are sketched “flat”, i.e., non-hierarchically. We suggest that transforming flat pharmacodynamic schemes into mechanistic multi-level representations may assist in disentangling the different kinds of mechanisms and relations depicted by arrows in flat schemes. The resulting Baumkuchen model provides a powerful and practical alternative to traditional flat schemes, as it explicates the relevant mechanisms and relations more clearly. On a more general note, our discussion demonstrates how pharmacology and related disciplines may benefit from applying concepts from the new mechanist philosophy to guide the interpretation of scientific diagrams. |
DOI of the first publication: | 10.3390/ijerph17061833 |
Link to this record: | urn:nbn:de:bsz:291--ds-305657 hdl:20.500.11880/30212 http://dx.doi.org/10.22028/D291-30565 |
ISSN: | 1660-4601 |
Date of registration: | 16-Dec-2020 |
Faculty: | NT - Naturwissenschaftlich- Technische Fakultät P - Philosophische Fakultät |
Department: | NT - Pharmazie P - Philosophie |
Professorship: | NT - Prof. Dr. Claus Jacob P - Jun.-Prof. Dr. Lena Kästner |
Collections: | SciDok - Der Wissenschaftsserver der Universität des Saarlandes |
Files for this record:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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ijerph-17-01833.pdf | 3,98 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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