Abstract
In a 2020 paper, 37 authors, all researchers and students in aging biology, pointed out a general lack of consensus in their field, “even on the most fundamental questions”. They evoked a “problem”, for which a solution has yet to be found. But what exactly does this lack of consensus specifically refer to and why should it be inherently problematic? Here, I would like to explore three distinct philosophical reactions when dealing with this issue. First, I will assess the extent to which this lack of consensus can be taken as evidence that science, in a sense, needs philosophy. Then, I will examine how it may be related to the particular nature of the aging phenomenon, which both science and philosophy can help describe and understand. Finally, I will show that this lack of consensus could also be considered, not as a problem, but as an opportunity to question the role of pluralism and the importance of ambiguity in science in general, and in aging biology in particular.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
Not applicable.
Code availability
Not applicable.
Notes
In 1990, Medvedev had already identified more than 300 biological theories of aging (Medvedev, 1990).
(i) What is aging? (ii) Is aging a disease? (iii) Is aging inevitable? (iv) Do all living beings age? (v) Can aging be measured? (vi) Is aging a phenomenon restricted to the organism level? (vii) Do physical objects age in the same way as living beings? (viii) What logical relationships exist between the many theories of aging? (ix) Does the concept of aging differ between physiological and evolutionary biology?
The italics are ours.
More precisely, these recommendations are: (i) to “make more room for philosophy in scientific conferences”; (ii) to “host philosophers in scientific labs and departments”; (iii) to “co-supervise PhD students”; (iv) to “create curricula balanced in science and philosophy that foster a genuine dialogue between them”; (v) to “read science and philosophy”, since “reading philosophy can also constitute a great source of inspiration for researchers”; and finally (vi) to “open new sections devoted to philosophical and conceptual analysis issues in science journals” (Laplane et al. 2019).
“The aging of a mechanism is a process resulting from the combination of mechanisms limiting its lifespan (“promotive”) and mechanisms modulating their effects (“protective”). The balance between the effects of these two types determines the rate of aging.”.
(ii) Is aging a disease? (iii) Is aging inevitable? (iv) Do all living beings age? (v) Can aging be measured? (vi) Is aging a phenomenon restricted to the organism level? (vii) Do physical objects age in the same way as living beings? (viii) What logical relationships exist between the many theories of aging? (ix) Does the concept of aging differ between physiological and evolutionary biology?
For example, many papers recently reported a significant increase in life span (lifepsan) or healthy life span (healthspan) in a model organism. Such articles are necessarily based on the follow-up of individuals during their entire life span. See for example: (Bitto et al. 2016; Eisenberg et al. 2016; Catterson et al. 2018; Bárcena, et al. 2019).
Here, it seems important to acknowledge the existence of certain tests that are used in geriatrics to assess the health status of elderly patients. Indeed, many of these tests have been carefully designed to take into account (some aspects, at least) of the psychological dimension of aging (see, for example, the use of the G-CODE for clinical research in older patients with cancer (Paillaud et al. 2018)). However, one may ask: do these tests really make it possible to account for the individual, lived experience of aging?
Please note that this is the same Alan Cohen as in (Cohen et al. 2020a), but with different colleagues and a rather different approach.
I am well aware that the notion of “biology” was forged at the very beginning of the nineteenth century, or at most in the middle of the 18th (McLaughlin 2002). I am therefore speaking here of “biological” considerations in a very broad sense, allowing to consider Western philosophy as a whole, since Antiquity.
I am focusing here on “classical” Western philosophy. In this respect, it would be interesting to consider the possible contribution of other philosophical traditions, as suggested by the work of François Jullien, which I will cite later.
Those stages are: fertilization, blastocyst development, blastocyst implantation, embryo development, fetal development.
This enumeration of the different forms of integrative biology is based on the three forms of holism identified by Anne Harrington in her history of “holism” in German culture (Harrington 1999).
Without going into detail, let us simply consider the huge gap between, on the one hand, demographic studies of aging, which focus on populations to explore the hereditary dimension of aging (Vaupel 2010), and, on the other hand, the genetics of aging, which is interested in the particular phenotype of certain individuals (phenotype of healthy aging or exceptional longevity, for example) in order to identify genes and mutations that might be associated with a certain type of aging (Brooks-Wilson 2013).
DSBs: DNA Double-Strand Breaks.
In French, « pivot» means swivel.
As Ilana Löwy (Löwy 1992) points out, such examples of imprecise and/or ambiguous use of certain terms or theories that are temporary but also necessary can be found in the history of the nineteenth century physics or twentieth century genetics.
Interestingly, it seems that similar notions are used in gerontology and geriatrics – in particular: “decompensation”, “disengagement” or “fragility”. However, a more in-depth analysis of these concepts, and of the field from which they originate, would be necessary before any conclusion could be drawn.
References
Allen GE (2005) Mechanism, vitalism and organicism in late nineteenth and twentieth-century biology: the importance of historical context. Stud Hist Philos Sci Part C Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci 36(2):261–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2005.03.003
Bacon F (1605) Du progrès et de la promotion des savoirs. Gallimard, Paris
Baglivi G (1704) Dissertatio de anatome flbrarum, de motu musculorum, ac de morbis solidorum, in Opera medico-practica et anatomica. Lyon. Anisson & Posuel (cited by Grmek 1968)
Balcombe NR, Sinclair A (2001) Aging: definitions, mechanisms and the magnitude of the problem. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 15(6):835–849. https://doi.org/10.1053/bega.2001.0244
Bárcena C, Valdés-Mas R, Mayoral P et al (2019) Healthspan and lifespan extension by fecal microbiota transplantation into progeroid mice. Nat Med 25(8):1234–1242. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0504-5
Bitto A, Ito TK, Pineda VV et al (2016) Transient rapamycin treatment can increase lifespan and healthspan in middle-aged mice. elife 5:e16351. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16351.001
Brooks-Wilson AR (2013) Genetics of healthy aging and longevity. Hum Genet 132(12):1323–1338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-013-1342-z
Carvallo S (2010) Ageing in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Sci Context 23(3):267. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0269889710000086
Catterson JH et al (2018) Short-term, intermittent fasting induces long-lasting gut health and TOR-independent lifespan extension. Curr Biol 28(11):1714–1724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.015
Cesari M, Vellas B, Gambassi G (2013) The stress of aging. Exp Gerontol 48(4):451–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2012.10.004
Cohen AA, Milot E, Li Q et al (2015) Detection of a novel, integrative aging process suggests complex physiological integration. PloS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116489
Cohen AA, Kennedy BK, Anglas U et al (2020a) Lack of consensus on an aging biology paradigm? A global survey reveals an agreement to disagree, and the need for an interdisciplinary framework. Mech Aging Dev 191:111316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2020.111316
Cohen AA, Legault V, Fülöp T (2020b) What if there’s no such thing as “aging”? Mech Aging Dev 192:111344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2020.111344
Crignon-De Oliveira CD (2011). Peut-on vieillir sans médecins? La réponse des auteurs de régimes de santé ou «conseils pour vivre longtemps» aux xviie et xviiie siècles. Astérion. Philosophie, histoire des idées, pensée politique. (8). https://doi.org/10.4000/asterion.2018
Crignon C, Lefebvre D (2019) Médecins et philosophes. Une histoire. Cnrs
Descartes R (1633) Traité de l'homme. Gallimard, 1970
Descartes R (1648) La description du corps humain
du Laurens A (1597) Discours de la conservation de la vue, des maladies melancholiques, des catarrhes, et de la vieillesse, Paris
Eisenberg T, Abdellatif M, Schroeder S et al (2016) Cardioprotection and lifespan extension by the natural polyamine spermidine. Nat Med 22(12):1428–1438. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4222
Fahlström A, Yu Q, Ulfhake B (2011) Behavioral changes in aging female C57BL/6 mice. Neurobiol Aging 32(10):1868–1880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.11.003
Farage MA, Miller KW, Elsner P, Maibach HI (2008) Intrinsic and extrinsic factors in skin aging: a review. Int J Cosmet Sci 30(2):87–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2494.2007.00415.x
Flatt T, Partridge L (2018) Horizons in the evolution of aging. BMC Biol 16(1):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-018-0562-z
Franceschi C, Garagnani P, Morsiani C et al (2018) The continuum of aging and age-related diseases: common mechanisms but different rates. Front Med 5:61. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2018.00061
Gems D (2014) What is an anti-aging treatment? Exp Gerontol 58:14–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2014.07.003
Godbout JP, Moreau M, Lestage J et al (2008) Aging exacerbates depressive-like behavior in mice in response to activation of the peripheral innate immune system. Neuropsychopharmacology 33(10):2341–2351. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1301649
Goldsmith TC (2012) On the programmed/non-programmed aging controversy. Biochemistry (Moscow) 77(7):729–732. https://doi.org/10.1134/S000629791207005X
Grmek MD (1968) Les idées de Descartes sur le prolongement de la vie et le mécanisme du vieillissement. Revue d’histoire des Sci et de Leurs Appl 21(4):285–302
Gruman GJ (1966). A history of ideas about the prolongation of life. The Evolution of Prolongevity Hypotheses to 1800. Philadelphie, États-Unis: transactions of the American Philosophical Society (n.s., vol 56, part 9)
Gruner OC (1930) A Treatise on the Canon of Medicine of Avicenna, Incorporating a Translation of the First Book. London (Cited by Gruman 1966)
Hacking I (1992) ‘Style’ for historians and philosophers. Stud Hist Philos Sci Part A 23(1):1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/0039-3681(92)90024-Z
Harrington A (1999) Reenchanted science: holism in German culture from Wilhelm II to Hitler. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Jacob F (1970) La logique du vivant. Gallimard, France
Jin K (2010) Modern biological theories of aging. Aging Dis 1(2):72
Jullien F (2009) Les transformations silencieuses. Grasset, Paris
Kennedy BK, Berger SL, Brunet A et al (2014) Geroscience: linking aging to chronic disease. Cell 159(4):709–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.10.039
Kirkwood TB, Melov S (2011) On the programmed/non-programmed nature of ageing within the life history. Curr Biol 21(18):R701–R707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.07.020
Kohl E, Steinbauer J, Landthaler M, Szeimies RM (2011) Skin ageing. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 25(8):873–884. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3083.2010.03963.x
Kowald A, Kirkwood TB (2016) Can aging be programmed? A critical literature review. Aging Cell 15(6):986–998
Laplane L, Mantovani P, Adolphs R et al (2019) Opinion: why science needs philosophy. Proc Natl Acad Sci 116(10):3948–3952. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900357116
Lemoine M (2020) Defining aging. Biol Philos 35(5):1–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-020-09765-z
Löwy I (1992) The strength of loose concepts—boundary concepts, federative experimental strategies and disciplinary growth: the case of immunology. Hist Sci 30(4):371–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/007327539203000402
McLaughlin P (2002) Naming biology. J Hist Biol. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014535811678
Medvedev Z (1990) An attempt at a rational classification of theories of aging. Biol Rev Cam Philos Soc 63:375–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1990.tb01428.x
Mooney KM, Morgan AE, Mc Auley MT (2016) Aging and computational systems biology. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Syst Biol Med 8(2):123–139. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsbm.1328
Morange M (2012) Les secrets du vivant: contre la pensée unique en biologie. La Découverte, Paris
Noiret A, Puch L, Riffaud C, Costantini D, Riou JF, Aujard F, Terrien J (2020) Sex-specific response to caloric restriction after reproductive investment in Microcebus murinus: an integrative approach. Front Physiol 11:506. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00506
Paillaud E, Soubeyran P, Caillet P et al (2018) Multidisciplinary development of the geriatric core dataset for clinical research in older patients with cancer: a French initiative with international survey. Eur J Cancer 103:61–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2018.07.137
Reynolds AS (2018) The third lens: metaphor and the creation of modern cell biology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Ross WD (1955) Aristotle: Parva Naturalia. A revised text with introduction and commentary. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Ruphy S (2011) From Hacking’s plurality of styles of scientific reasoning to “Foliated” pluralism: a philosophically robust form of ontologico-methodological pluralism. Philos Sci 78(5):1212–1222
Schaum N, Lehallier B, Hahn O et al (2020) Ageing hallmarks exhibit organ-specific temporal signatures. Nature 583(7817):596–602. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2499-y
Shrout PE, Spitzer RL, Fleiss JL (1987) Quantification of agreement in psychiatric diagnosis revisited. Arch Gen Psychiatry 44(2):172–177. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800140084013
Spitzer RL, Cohen J, Fleiss JL, Endicott J (1967) Quantification of agreement in psychiatric diagnosis: a new approach. Arch Gen Psychiatry 17(1):83–87. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1967.01730250085012
Stahl GE (1859) Œuvres médico-philosophiques et pratiques. Translated by Théodose Blondin, vol 6. Baillière, Paris
Star SL, Griesemer JR (1989) Institutional ecology, ‘translations’ and boundary objects: amateurs and professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of vertebrate zoology, 1907–39. Soc Stud Sci 19(3):387–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631289019003001
Trojahn C, Dobos G, Lichterfeld A, Blume-Peytavi U, Kottner J (2015) Characterizing facial skin aging in humans: disentangling extrinsic from intrinsic biological phenomena. Biomed Res Int. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/318586
Vaupel JW (2010) Biodemography of human ageing. Nature 464(7288):536–542. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08984
Vijg J, Campisi J (2008) Puzzles, promises and a cure for aging. Nature 454(7208):1065–1071. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07216
White RR, Vijg J (2016) Do DNA double-strand breaks drive aging? Mol Cell 63(5):729–738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2016.08.004
Young AJ (2018) The role of telomeres in the mechanisms and evolution of life-history trade-offs and aging. Philos Trans Royal Soci b Biol Sci 373(1741):20160452. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0452
Zhang R, Chen HZ, Liu DP (2015) The four layers of aging. Cell Syst 1(3):180–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2015.09.002
Zierer J, Menni C, Kastenmüller G, Spector TD (2015) Integration of ‘omics’ data in aging research: from biomarkers to systems biology. Aging Cell 14(6):933–944. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12386
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Lucie Laplane, Claire Crignon, Michael Rera, Ilana Löwy, Cornelius Borck, and especially to Marie Gaille, for helpful discussions and valuable comments and feedback on previous versions of this paper.
Funding
This research was conducted within the framework of a doctoral contract financed by the École polytechnique (allocation ministérielle spécifique polytechnicien, AMX) within the SPHERE laboratory (CNRS, UMR7219) and the École doctorale 623.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Not applicable.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Guillermain, C. Is there a need for consensus in aging biology?. Biol Philos 37, 49 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-022-09882-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-022-09882-x