Article ID: CBB001221636

Development and Mechanistic Explanation (2012)

unapi

Within modern philosophy of biology the topic of mechanistic explanation has become a central theme for critical discussion. The neo-mechanical philosophers have developed accounts that emphasize intervention and manipulation as the central epistemic tools that allow gaining epistemic access upon the mechanisms and have argued that the processes of inter-field integration across disciplines can be understood through the analysis of mechanisms spanning multiple levels. In this paper I revisit current proposals on mechanistic explanation in order to show some of their limitations when dealing with developmental mechanisms. I basically argue that (i) developmental mechanisms cannot be accommodated within a framework centered upon the mutual manipulation principle, (ii) the distinction between causal relations vs. constitutive relations cannot be easily demarcated within developmental biology and (iii) the notion of part underlying the neo-mechanical accounts on explanation is not suitable for developmental biology.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001221636/

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Authors & Contributors
Kaplan, David M.
Burnston, Daniel C.
Winning, Jason
Yucel, Robyn
Braillard, Pierre-Alain
Racine, Valerie
Concepts
Philosophy of science
Explanation; hypotheses; theories
Mechanism; mechanical philosophy
Ontology
Molecular biology
Developmental biology
Time Periods
17th century
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
18th century
Places
England
Institutions
Université de Montpellier
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