Explaining Cancer

Reviews / Votes

A superb contribution to the burgeoning literature in philosophy of medicine. * Daniel Hausman, author of Valuing Health: Well-Being, Freedom, and Suffering * Cancer biology is a fascinatingly complex field, and Plutynski communicates this complexity well, illustrating in detail many themes of contemporary philosophy of biology....Overall, I found this a fascinating and helpful book, richly detailed and accessible. * Miriam Solomon, author of Making Medical Knowledge * Sets the stage for future discussions of the distinctive philosophical implications of cancer research. * Sara Green, editor of Philosophy of Systems Biology: Perspectives from Scientists and Philosophers * a fascinating story of cancer research ... Anya Plutynski shows how looking at cancer from the philosophical angle can help shape our perception of what cancer is and how cancer biology and epidemiology work ... think the vast majority of readers will find the narrative gripping and will enjoy reading it. Indeed, if philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy, the philosophy of oncology is now a new twig that I will enjoy watching grow. * Olaf Dammann, Metascience * ...for those who care about philosophy of science, the book illustrates how cancer can be a rich case study. In addition, the systematic investigation of traditional philosophical debates applied to cancer that Plutynski pursues in this book makes it a great resource for teaching. For those who care about cancer, the book illustrates the need to develop more 'bottom up' philosophical approaches. * Lucie Laplane, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences *