Dana Tulodziecki

I propose a conceptual framework aimed at non-expert understanding of immunity and the immune system. Such an account is needed, to replace the prevailing public view that human immune systems can be evaluated in terms of “strong” vs. “weak” defenses against disease. While accessible to common-sense, the prevailing view encourages misunderstanding, contributes to pressing social problems, and is incompatible with our best current scientific and philosophical understanding of immunity. Building on my earlier work on context-dependent understanding, I motivate a new conceptual framework for non-expert understanding of immunity that is accessible to non-experts (i.e., non-technical), engages and respects everyday experience, addresses concerns about bodily autonomy and control, and reflects our best scientific and philosophical theories about immunity and the immune system. Importantly, this conceptual approach treats non-expert understanding as epistemically beneficial in its own right, arising from a two-way mutualistic relation between expert and non-expert perspectives. The result is a simple conceptual framework consisting of three core ideas: immunity is yours, efficient, and specific (YES). The YES schema is compatible with current insights from theoretical immunology and can help address current social problems associated with vaccine skepticism and hesitancy. I conclude with some implications of this view for recent philosophical accounts of understanding.