Reductionism as a scientific methodology has been extraordinarily
successful in biology. However, recent developments in molecular
biology have shown that reductionism is seriously inadequate in
dealing with the mind-boggling complexity of integrated biological
systems.
This title presents an appropriate balance between science and
philosophy and covers traditional philosophical treatments of
reductionism as well as the benefits and shortcomings of
reductionism in particular areas of science.
Discussing the issue of reductionism in the practice of medicine it
takes into account the holistic and integrative aspects that
require the context of the patient in his biological and
psychological entirety.
The emerging picture is that what first seems like hopeless
disagreements turn out to be differences in emphasis. Although
genes play an important role in biology, the focus on genetics and
genomics has often been misleading. The consensus view leads to
pluralism: both reductionst methods and a more integrative approach
to biological complexity are required, depending on the questions
that are asked.
* An even balance of contributions from scientists and philosophers
of science – representing a unique interchange between both
communities interested in reductionism
Innehållsförteckning
Preface
Contributors
About the Editors
Introduction (D.L. Hull and M.H.V. Van Regenmortel)
Emergent Properties of Biological Molecules and Cells (R. P. J.
Williams)
From Nineteenth Century Ideas on Reduction in Physiology to
Non-reductive Explanations in Twentieth Century Biochemistry (C.
Debru)
Pitfalls of Reductionism in Immunology (M. H. V. Van
Regenmortel)
Reductionism in Medicine: Social Aspects of Health (E.A.
Lloyd)
’Who’s Afraid of Reductionism?’ ’I am!’ (S. Shostak)
Round Table Discussion 1 (Chair: A. Rosenberg)
Reductionism in a Historical Science (A. Rosenberg)
Varieties of Reductionism: Derivation and Gene Selection (D. L.
Hull)
The Gene: Between Holism and Reductionism (M. Morange)
Genes versus Molecules: How to, and How Not To, Be a Reductionist
(S. Sarak)
Limits on Reproduction: A Reductionist Research Strategy in
Evolutionary Biology (J. Griesemer)
Evolutionary Psychology: A Case Study in the Poverty of Genetic
Determinism (J. Dupre)
Round Table Discussion 2 (Chair: M.H.V. Van Regenmortel)
The Ethical Imperative of Holism in Medicine (A. Tauber)
Levels of Explanation in Human Behaviour: the Poverty of
Evolutionary Psychology (S. P. R. Rose)
Reductionism and Social Policy (D. Nelkin)
Reductionism, Complexity and Molecular Medicine: Genetic Chips and
the ’Globalization’ of the Genome (K. Schaffner)
Round Table Discussion 3 (Chair: K.F. Schaffner)
Bibliography
Index
Om författaren
David L. Hull has been teaching philosophy of biology for almost forty years. He received his Ph D from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University and has taught at the University of Wisconisn-Milwuaukee and Northwestern University. He has published a dozen books and anthologies and over a hundred papers. He is past president of the Philosophy of Science Association, The Society for Systematic Zoology and the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Marc Van Regenmortel was for 20 years Director of the Immunochemistry Laboratory at the CNRS Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, in Strasbourg, France. Educated in Brussels, Belgium, he received his Ph D degree (1961) in Virology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and held professorship appointments at several Universities in South Africa and France. The author or editor of 14 books in virology and immunochemistry, he has published over 350 scientific papers and reviews. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Molecular Recognition and of Archives of Virology, an Executive Editor of Analytical Biochemistry and serves on the editorial boards of seven other journals. He was for nine years (1990-1999) Secretary General of the International Union of Microbiological Societies and for three years (1987-1990) Chairman of its Virology Division. He is since 1996 the President of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
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