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Defining Genetic Disease

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Classification, Disease and Evidence

Part of the book series: History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences ((HPTL,volume 7))

Abstract

The concept of genetic disease refers to the idea that one or more genes are the cause of disease. Under this definition, problems arise when it comes to the use of the term “cause”. Moreover, genes alone cannot explain the development of a disease; environmental causes are also at play. So when is giving primary importance to genetic causation justified?

In his paper “The Concept of Genetic Disease” (2004), David Magnus differentiates three competing concepts of genetic disease related to three approaches of causality. He concludes that none is really acceptable. Finding insufficiencies in each approach, he ultimately adopts a definition of genetic disease that arises from medical uses. In this contribution, I will specify the three conceptions of genetic causality and defend the idea that they function together in the definition of a disease as a genetic disease.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These multifactorial diseases are often also multigenic diseases: many genes work together in the development of the pathology. Campion (2001), Strachan and Read (2004), Feingold (2005).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculté de philosophie, Université Lyon 3, Lyon, France

    Catherine Dekeuwer Ph.D.

  2. Institut de Recherches Philosophiques de Lyon, Université Lyon 3, Lyon, France

    Catherine Dekeuwer Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Catherine Dekeuwer Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Catherine Dekeuwer Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IHPST, CNRS/Université Paris I/ENS, Paris, France

    Philippe Huneman

  2. Centre Cavaillès, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

    Gérard Lambert

  3. Éditions Matériologiques, Paris, France

    Marc Silberstein

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Dekeuwer, C. (2015). Defining Genetic Disease. In: Huneman, P., Lambert, G., Silberstein, M. (eds) Classification, Disease and Evidence. History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8887-8_7

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