The network collective : rise and fall of a scientific paradigm / Klaus Eichmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eichmann, Klaus, 1939-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Idiotypic networks.

Immune system--Research--History.

Immune system.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (279 p.)

Edition:

1st ed. 2008.

Place of Publication:

Basel ; Boston : Birkhäuser, c2008.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

The network paradigm dominated immunological research from the early 1970's to the late 1980's. The originator, Niels Jerne, hypothesized that the vast diversity of antibodies in each individual forms a network of mutual "idiotypic" recognition, thus regulating the immune system. In context of emerging concepts of systems biology such as cybernetics and autopoesis, the "Eigenbehavior" of the immune system fascinated an entire generation of young immunologists. But fascination led to experimental errors and overinterpretation, eventually magnifying the immune system from a mere infection-fighting device to a substrate of personality and individuality. As a result, what initially appeared as an exciting new perspective of the immune system is now viewed as a scientific vagary, and is largely abandoned. The author, himself a participant in the network vagary, begins with a description of the leading theoretical concepts on fact finding in science. This is followed by a historical account of the rise and fall of the network paradigm, complemented by personal interviews with some of the prominent protagonists. By comparing the network paradigm to other, more lasting concepts in life science, the author develops a general perspective on how solid knowledge is derived from error-prone scientific methodology, namely by exposure of scientific notions to the scrutiny of reality.

Contents:

Autobiographical note

Autobiographical note

Scientific Knowledge, Delusive or Deductive

Realism, constructivism, and the naiveté of the experimental scientist

Beyond underdeterminism: Popper, Kuhn, et al.

The anthropology of science: Ludwik Fleck et al.

The science wars

Origins, Rise, and Fall of the Network Paradigm

The immune system, pre-network paradigms

The necessity for an interactive theory of immunity

Proto-ideas of the network theory: antibody self-regulation, idiotypy, the brain analogy, and cybernetics

The idiotypic network theory

The T cell receptor puzzle

Suppression turned idiotypic

Network mannerism

Post-network immunology: Idiotypic network continues at the bedside

Hindsight

Science between Fact and Fiction

The fictional nature of scientific notions

Fiction turned fact: The case of antibodies

The enticing network: Fiction forever

Logic and laws in life science.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-281-90476-7

9786611904760

3-7643-8373-9

OCLC:

304494965