Abstract
In this paper we argue that an operational organism concept can help to overcome the structural deficiency of mathematical models in biology. In our opinion, the strutural deficiency of mathematical models lies mainly in our inability to identify functionally relevant biological characters in biological systems, and not so much in a lack of adequate mathematical representations of biological processes. We argue that the problem of character identification in biological systems is linked to the question of a properly formulated organism concept. Lastly, we demonstrate how a decomposition of an organism into independent characters in the context of a specific biological process-such as adaptation by means of natural selection-depends on the dynamical properties and invariance conditions of the equations that describe this process.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Philosophy of Science |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue number | 3 SUPPL. |
| State | Published - 2000 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History
- History and Philosophy of Science
- Philosophy
Cite this
Organism and character decomposition : steps towards an integrative theory of biology. / Laubichler, Manfred.
In: Philosophy of Science, Vol. 67, No. 3 SUPPL., 2000.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Organism and character decomposition
T2 - steps towards an integrative theory of biology
AU - Laubichler, Manfred
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - In this paper we argue that an operational organism concept can help to overcome the structural deficiency of mathematical models in biology. In our opinion, the strutural deficiency of mathematical models lies mainly in our inability to identify functionally relevant biological characters in biological systems, and not so much in a lack of adequate mathematical representations of biological processes. We argue that the problem of character identification in biological systems is linked to the question of a properly formulated organism concept. Lastly, we demonstrate how a decomposition of an organism into independent characters in the context of a specific biological process-such as adaptation by means of natural selection-depends on the dynamical properties and invariance conditions of the equations that describe this process.
AB - In this paper we argue that an operational organism concept can help to overcome the structural deficiency of mathematical models in biology. In our opinion, the strutural deficiency of mathematical models lies mainly in our inability to identify functionally relevant biological characters in biological systems, and not so much in a lack of adequate mathematical representations of biological processes. We argue that the problem of character identification in biological systems is linked to the question of a properly formulated organism concept. Lastly, we demonstrate how a decomposition of an organism into independent characters in the context of a specific biological process-such as adaptation by means of natural selection-depends on the dynamical properties and invariance conditions of the equations that describe this process.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0042031970&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0042031970&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0042031970
VL - 67
JO - Philosophy of Science
JF - Philosophy of Science
SN - 0031-8248
IS - 3 SUPPL.
ER -