A causal dispositional account of fitness

Dynamic and thermodynamic models of adaptation

The concept of biological adaptation was closely connected to some mathematical, engineering and physical ideas from the very beginning. Cannon in his "The wisdom of the body" (1932) systematically used the engineering vision of regulation. In 1938, Selye enriched this approach by the notion of adaptation energy. This term causes much debate when one takes it literally, as a physical quantity, i.e. a sort of energy. Selye did not use the language of mathematics systematically, but the formalization of his phenomenological theory in the spirit of thermodynamics was simple and led to verifiable predictions. In 1980s, the dynamics of correlation and variance in systems under adaptation to a load of environmental factors were studied and the universal effect in ensembles of systems under a load of similar factors was discovered: in a crisis, as a rule, even before the onset of obvious symptoms of stress, the correlation increases together with variance (and volatility). During 30 years, this effect has been supported by many observations of groups of humans, mice, trees, grassy plants, and on financial time series. In the last ten years, these results were supplemented by many new experiments, from gene networks in cardiology and oncology to dynamics of depression and clinical psychotherapy. Several systems of models were developed: the thermodynamic-like theory of adaptation of ensembles and several families of models of individual adaptation. Historically, the first group of models was based on Selye's concept of adaptation energy and used fitness estimates. Two other groups of models are based on the idea of hidden attractor bifurcation and on the advection-diffusion model for distribution of population in the space of physiological attributes. We explore this world of models and experiments, starting with classic works, with particular attention to the results of the last ten years and open questions.

What Is a Hologenomic Adaptation? Emergent Individuality and Inter-Identity in Multispecies Systems

Contemporary biological research has suggested that some host-microbiome multispecies systems (referred to as "holobionts") can in certain circumstances evolve as unique biological individual, thus being a unit of selection in evolution. If this is so, then it is arguably the case that some biological adaptations have evolved at the level of the multispecies system, what we call hologenomic adaptations. However, no research has yet been devoted to investigating their nature, or how these adaptations can be distinguished from adaptations at the species-level (genomic adaptations). In this paper, we cover this gap by investigating the nature of hologenomic adaptations. By drawing on the case of the evolution of sanguivory diet in vampire bats, we argue that a trait constitutes a hologenomic adaptation when its evolution can only be explained if the holobiont is considered the biological individual that manifests this adaptation, while the bacterial taxa that bear the trait are only opportunistic beneficiaries of it. We then use the philosophical notions of emergence and inter-identity to explain the nature of this form of individuality and argue why it is special of holobionts. Overall, our paper illustrates how the use of philosophical concepts can illuminate scientific discussions, in the trend of what has recently been called metaphysics of biology.

A novel clinical framework: The use of dispositions in clinical practice. A person centred approach

This paper explores a novel clinical framework that is underpinned by a specific philosophical perspective of causation and its utility in clinical practice. A dispositional theory of causation may overcome challenges that clinicians face in complex clinical presentations including those that are medically unexplained. Dispositionalism identifies causes not as regular events necessitating an effect but rather phenomena, which are highly complex, context-sensitive, and which tend toward an effect. Diagnostic uncertainty and causal explanation are significant challenges in terms of clinical reasoning, communication, and the overall therapeutic outcome. This novel framework aims to facilitate improved collaborative clinical reasoning, enhanced patient-practitioner interaction, and supported treatment planning. The paper uses a real case study of a patient with nonspecific spinal pain to demonstrate the clinical framework as used in clinical practice.