Is Coronavirus an object? Metametaphysics meets medical sciences

In ontological terms, what can we learn from the current state of the art in Epidemiology? Applying the Quinean criterion of ontological commitment, we can learn that there are several fundamental entities for the theory to work. One is a virus type entity, in which the (in)famous Coronavirus is a p...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Arroyo, Raoni Wohnrath
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2020
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)
Repository:Voluntas - Revista Internacional de Filosofia (Santa Maria)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/43633
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufsm.br/voluntas/article/view/43633
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Naturalized ontology
Metaphysics
Metametaphysics
Epidemiology
Scientific realism
Unavailable metaphysical stories.
Ontologia naturalizada
Metafísica
Metametafísica
Epidemiologia
Ciências médicas
Estórias metafísicas indisponíveis
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Summary:In ontological terms, what can we learn from the current state of the art in Epidemiology? Applying the Quinean criterion of ontological commitment, we can learn that there are several fundamental entities for the theory to work. One is a virus type entity, in which the (in)famous Coronavirus is a particular case. In metaphysical terms, this entity can, in principle, be understood in several ways. One of those ways, apparently, and perhaps intuitively, is the notion of object. Applying the metametaphysical method of Unavailable Metaphysical Stories, we found that Epidemiology is incompatible with an object metaphysics.