THE MIND AND THE AGING
3. THE CONDITIONALITY AND THE AGING
4. THE EVOLUTION AND THE AGING
5. THE PRIMITIVE PRINCIPLES OF THE ERADICATION OF AGING
1. THE LOGIC AND THE AGING
How can be harmonized the scientific explanation of aging with the logic and the philosophy of science? The traditional Hempelian model (DN) of explanation was a deductive one. Hempel's model submsumes an individual event to a certain general law, an individuality to a generality. The generality can be unconditioned or conditioned. But, how can be modeled, in a similar way, the theories from the Medvedev's rational clasification? I consider that, most theories clasified by Medvedev are causaly explanatory. A set of phenotypes causes aging's phenotypes. For instance, ROS causes lesions, lesions also mean aging, aging is caused also by ROS. Or, myelin's deterioration or thiness causes the decrease of the protective power of the neuron. That decrease causes vulnerability to certain physical stressors. That is why, the neuronal death is conditioned also by the loss or deterioration of myelin. Important age-related neuronal losses causes cognitive aging. Telomeric changes causes replicative senescence (Hayflick, 1983).
That is why, it seems that, we can formalize conjunctively Medvedev's clasification in the folowing way: (c1Ùc2Ù ÙcX) causes (e1Ùe2Ùe3Ù ÙeX)=AGING. Where ci are causes and ei are effects. However, (c1, c2, , cX) can contain causes from different levels. Some causes do not determ directly behavioral aging, but there exist causal chains that determ only finaly behavioral aging. That is, there are indirect interactions between different levels (cognitive and non-cognitive, tissular and intracellular etc.), that is, certain bidirectionalities. Because all of this, the first premise of an explanatory reasoning cannot have, in our case, a simple 'C causes E' form. How simple was all in antiquity:
P1: People are mortal.
P2: Socrates is man.
C: Socrates is mortal.
or
P1: People undergoes aging, naturaly.
P2: Socrates is man.
Condition1: are excluded the anti-aging actions.
Condition2: is excluded the death by accident or incurable diseases.
Conclusion: Socrates undergoes aging.
P1: "ðx[(xIðH)®ðA(x)].
P2: Socrates belongs to H.
C: Aging (Socrates).
o r , "ðx[((xIðH)®ðA(x))Ùð(ðsIðH)]®ðAð(ðS).
These reasonings extend a general intensional element to an individual that belong to a set-extension, but, it seems that, are non-explanatory. The characteristic or process that we have to explain is the characteristic of an object, a bio-object. Aging is not an absolute entity. However, we do not want to explain the aging of an individual man, but the human aging in general. The dificulty consists not in the extentension of a property to an individual, it seems. The actual scientific explanation of aging does not fit naturaly Hempel's model. We need a fundamental abstract understanding of aging. Aging implies quantitative and qualitative cellular changes. And also changes of the intercellular environment. Many aging-related quantitative cellular losses are caused by apoptosis conditioned by qualitative factors. The aging of the biowhole is not reducible to the loss of its fundamental redundat bioparts.
Medvedev's rational clasification of the scientific theories of aging represents a multiplicity diversified in about six clases:
1. The theories of genetical programs.
2. The theories of the first lesions.
3. The theories based on the analysis of the manifestations of senescence at molecular, cellular, and organic levels.
4. The evolutionary theories.
5. The theories of aging of some particular tissues.
