It Is Not Possible to Reduce Biological Explanations to Explanations in Chemistry and/or Physics

Dupré, John

doi:10.1002/9781444314922.ch2

Cited by 38 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In Schrödinger's case, the physical feature of greatest importance to biology was the long-lived covalent bond. But for many reasons this line of approach has failed to deliver the deep and unifying insights based on physics (Anderson, 1972), from which powerful biological ideas -such as adaptation or individuality -might be derived (Dupre, 2009, Keller, 2009.…”

Section: The Architecture Of Individualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The information theory of individuality

et al. 2020

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We consider biological individuality in terms of information theoretic and graphical principles. Our purpose is to extract through an algorithmic decomposition system-environment boundaries supporting individuality. We infer or detect evolved individuals rather than assume that they exist. Given a set of consistent measurements over time, we discover a coarsegrained or quantized description on a system, inducing partitions (which can be nested).Legitimate individual partitions will propagate information from the past into the future, whereas spurious aggregations will not. Individuals are therefore de ned in terms of ongoing, bounded information processing units rather than lists of static features or conventional replication-based de nitions which tend to fail in the case of cultural change. One virtue of this approach is that it could expand the scope of what we consider adaptive or biological phenomena, particularly in the microscopic and macroscopic regimes of molecular and social phenomena.

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Section: The Architecture Of Individualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The information theory of individuality

et al. 2020

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“…In this perspective, every different account deals with the emergent original data, which is nevertheless a sort of ontological primum. A relevant epistemological question deals therefore with the "distinction between explaining how something does what it does and explaining what it does" [32]. In our case study, physiology explanation deals with how we perceive, giving an accurate description of the mechanism that rules the acquisition and processing of hearing information.…”

Section: Emergence As Embodied Dynamismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Musical Consonance and Dissonance: Epistemological Considerations from a Systemic Perspective

Stefano

Bertolaso

2014

Systems

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Different accounts have been given in order to face the problem of the emergence of musical consonance and dissonance. Getting a more adequate comprehension of such phenomenology may require a systemic view to integrate such multidimensionality into a unitary picture in which every partial solution enlightens a particular aspect of the very same problem. Such a systemic viewpoint shifts the focus from different explanations to analytic dimensions that seem to be embedded in music perception. Taking into consideration these dimensions means understanding consonance and dissonance in an embodied context, in which arithmetic, physics, psychology and physiology are part of a complex and dynamic process of understanding, which is not reducible to any privileged explanatory level.

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“…John Dupré has argued that this sort of reductionism seems problematic for the reason that the properties of the constituents need to be understood in relation to the larger system. 28 The reductionist principle (RP) suggests that all there is to know about a biological entity/system is fully explicable in terms of the chemical makeup of the entity/system in question. If we have a full description of the lower-level base, then it is possible in principle to deduce or derive the higher-level system.…”

Section: Teleology Retrieved: From Mechanism To Organismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Purpose for and within Creation: A Theological Appraisal of Organismic Teleology

Leidenhag

2021

Modern Theology

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Although many believe that modern evolutionary biology renders teleology superfluous, this article explores the recent resurgence of attempts to locate teleology, functions, and purpose in the nature of organisms. This essay further explores the relevance of teleology within Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox traditions, and the ways in which some theological doctrines have been construed against a teleological conception of both humanity and the wider cosmos. It also defends the reality of intrinsic teleology against an evolutionary‐reductionist accommodation strategy, and responds to the accusation that a theological affirmation of purpose within biological organisms entails the thorny position of intelligent design.

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It Is Not Possible to Reduce Biological Explanations to Explanations in Chemistry and/or Physics

Cited by 38 publications

References 17 publications

The information theory of individuality

The information theory of individuality

Understanding Musical Consonance and Dissonance: Epistemological Considerations from a Systemic Perspective

Purpose for and within Creation: A Theological Appraisal of Organismic Teleology

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