Marta Bertolaso

This essay shows how it’s possible to focus on an aspect of reductionism from a methodological point of view that is compatible, at least in principle, with a systemic perspective. The first part of this paper deals with the epistemological assumptions of interpretive models of cancer. Interestingly, they appear to be opposite each other, since they call on reductionist or anti reductionist perspectives. However, in the first sections it’s also showed that reductionist models present certain dimensions that are not of a reductionist nature. The paper also shows how analytical and synthetic approaches are mutually implicated. Reductionism, understood as an epistemological approach and not an ontological claim, plays a role in the general explanation and comprehension of a biological phenomenon, yet it specifically explains that of tumours. This allows the possibility of taking a reproducible subject of the investigation, to an organizational level, which ultimately is integrated ontologically with other levels as well.