Does it make sense to speak of the “totality of exhibitions”? A Critical Theory of Exhibitions

Seminar Theme: “The Limits of the Drive for Integration”

According to the definition originally proposed by Christopher Wild in 2005, the concept of the exposome refers to “the totality of exposures to which an individual is subjected throughout his or her life […] including the chemical, microbiological, physical, and recreational environments, medication, lifestyle, diet, and infections.” But what does the use of the term “totality” mean in this context?

In this presentation, Gilles Moutot examines the concept of the exposome and its application to current scientific issues. In doing so, he offers us an introduction to the philosophy of health. Since its emergence, the concept of the exposome has been associated with the promise of a deep (and comprehensive) understanding of the links between health and the environment. However, the study of the exposome is often conducted using a “reductionist” approach through collections of data measured by biomarkers—biomarkers that are considered to reflect the environment’s effect on our bodies. How can we integrate the concept of the exposome with the idea of totality—not as a mere aggregation of data but as a synthesis of that data—within a truly integrated approach?

There are two main difficulties associated with the use of this concept: it is linked to an impossible claim to exhaustiveness, and it separates the organism from the environment—that is, the internal environment from the external environment. Thus, this concept faces the same challenges as the notion of living environment(s), as an indivisible reality that exists only through the complex and reciprocal links between living organisms and ecosystems.

Gilles Moutot is an associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine and a member of the Center for Political and Social Studies (CEPEL) (University of Montpellier / CNRS). He recently co-edited the anthology*Medicine, Health, and the Humanities*. Handbook of the College of Medical Humanities(Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2021).