Open AccessA criticism of the reductionist and holistic vision in the planning of drugs in biological, chemical and physical level
Author(s) -
Daniel Augusto Barra de Oliveira,
Edenilson dos Santos Niculau
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
eclética química
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1678-4618
pISSN - 0100-4670
DOI - 10.26850/1678-4618eqj.v46.3.2021.p17-32
Subject(s) - reductionism , holism , premise , epistemology , action (physics) , phenomenon , criticism , computer science , cognitive science , philosophy , management science , sociology , psychology , physics , engineering , quantum mechanics , art , literature
In this work, two philosophical premises of science applied in the understanding of diseases and in the planning of drugs were studied. The first premise is reductionism. This idea is present in modern science when a problem can be reduced to the sum of its individual parts. Diseases can be understood as the metabolic action of few enzymes. Drugs can be planned through the mimicry of a specific enzymatic substrate. Biological molecules can be explained by the quantum theory applied to atoms and molecules. his idea has been the predominant way in modern science. On the other hand, there is a holistic view of the phenomenon. In this holistic view, the phenomenon must be understood as the whole. Drug design should be thought from a network of proteins, not just from a single enzymatic target. There is in fact a slight advantage in the reductionist method, because this philosophical view simplifies the problem. Today, a holistic view combined with methodological reductionism is used to develop new potential drugs.