Bungean Systemic Ontology and Its Application to Research in Animal Parasitism

Abstract

A mathematical model for understanding parasitism is proposed and developed. This model allows us to trace a distinction between the phenomena of parasitism and parasitic disease, respectively. The philosophical and theoretical framework for this model is Bunge’s systemic ontology. Parasitism is understood as a biological subsystem, which can result in parasitosis or parasitic disease when destabilizing factors are present.