The Dissenter

#1184 Maël Lemoine - Philosophy of Physiology: What is Disease, and What is Health?

Dec 4, 2025
Guest
Maël Lemoine
Maël Lemoine, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bordeaux and author of Philosophy of Physiology, delves into the intricate relationship between health and disease. He explores the divide between naturalists and normativists in defining disease and contrasts the philosophy of medicine with the philosophy of physiology. Lemoine emphasizes viewing health as an evolved trait shaped by natural phenomena, challenges traditional notions of homeostasis, and advocates for a broader understanding of pathology. His insights bridge philosophy, science, and our understanding of well-being.
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INSIGHT

Abandon Fixed Definitions Of Disease

  • Philosophers of medicine often treat health and disease as fixed, value-laden concepts while physiologists view them as scientific and revisable.
  • Maël Lemoine urges abandoning foundationalism and studying how scientists actually conceptualize disease in practice.
INSIGHT

Physiology Lacks One Unifying Theory

  • Physiology studies mechanisms of how organisms work, with homeostasis as a historically central but vague concept.
  • Lemoine notes physiology lacks a single unifying theory and instead contains multiple competing disease theories.
INSIGHT

Disease Concepts Work As Hypotheses

  • Biology rarely provides universal necessary-and-sufficient definitions due to complexity and exceptions.
  • Lemoine argues disease concepts function as hypotheses (e.g., genetic or infectious theories) rather than fixed definitions.
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