Article ID: CBB162430966

Chemical arbitrariness and the causal role of molecular adapters (2019)

unapi

Jacques Monod (1971) argued that certain molecular processes rely critically on the property of chemical arbitrariness, which he claimed allows those processes to “transcend the laws of chemistry”. It seems natural, as some philosophers have done, to interpret this in modal terms: a biological relationship is chemically arbitrary if it is possible, within the constraints of chemical “law”, for that relationship to have been otherwise than it is. But while modality is certainly important for understanding chemical arbitrariness, understanding its biological role also requires an account of the concrete causal-functional features that distinguish arbitrary from non-arbitrary phenomena. In this paper I elaborate on this under-emphasised aspect by offering a general account of these features: arbitrary relations are instantiated by mechanisms that involve molecular adapters, which causally couple two properties or processes which would otherwise be uncorrelated. Additionally, adapters work by acting as intermediate rather than cooperating causes.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB162430966/

Similar Citations

Article Zdenka Brzović; Predrag Šustar; (2020)
Postgenomics function monism (/isis/citation/CBB311069000/)

Article Henri Buc; Pierre-Olivier Méthot; (2020)
1970, Le Hasard et la nécessité et La Logique du vivant: Quelques souvenirs des uns et des autres (/isis/citation/CBB863384412/)

Article Laurent Loison; (2020)
Introduction (/isis/citation/CBB241558115/)

Article Ronan Le Roux; (2020)
Entre hasard et programme: Monod, Jacob et la cybernétique (/isis/citation/CBB986276851/)

Article Davide Vecchi; (2020)
DNA is not an ontologically distinctive developmental cause (/isis/citation/CBB782857037/)

Article Daniel Demellier; Laurent Loison; (2020)
Les archives de François Jacob, André Lwoff et Jacques Monod à l’Institut Pasteur (/isis/citation/CBB373459841/)

Article Causá, Mauro; Savin, Andreas; Silvi, Bernard; (2014)
Atoms and Bonds in Molecules and Chemical Explanations (/isis/citation/CBB001321116/)

Article Erduran, Sibel; Bravo, Agustin Aduriz; Naaman, Rachel Mamlok; (2007)
Developing Epistemologically Empowered Teachers: Examining the Role of Philosophy of Chemistry in Teacher Education (/isis/citation/CBB001032893/)

Article Eberhart, Mark; Travis, Jones; (2013)
The Two Faces of Chemistry: Can They Be Reconciled? (/isis/citation/CBB001321114/)

Article Sukumar, N.; (2013)
The Atom in a Molecule as a Mereological Construct in Chemistry (/isis/citation/CBB001321115/)

Article Nalewajski, Roman; (2014)
Entropic Concepts in Electronic Structure Theory (/isis/citation/CBB001321117/)

Article Hans-Jörg Rheinberger; (2020)
Two Books that Marked their Epoch – A Personal Encounter (/isis/citation/CBB766439626/)

Book Alexander R. Pruss; (2018)
Infinity, Causation, and Paradox (/isis/citation/CBB729390298/)

Article Andrej Dobovišek; Marko Vitas; (2017)
On a Quest of Reverse Translation (/isis/citation/CBB691036547/)

Article Hane Htut Maung; (2020)
Pluralism and incommensurability in suicide research (/isis/citation/CBB398053581/)

Book Calvó-Monreal, Xavier; (2012)
Polímeros e instrumentos. De la química a la biología molecular en Barcelona (1958--1977) (/isis/citation/CBB001500020/)

Book Stuart Glennan; (2017)
The New Mechanical Philosophy (/isis/citation/CBB462575570/)

Authors & Contributors
Loison, Laurent
Ronan Le Roux
Daniel Demellier
Brzović, Zdenka
Maung, Hane Htut
Marko Vitas
Concepts
Philosophy of science
Chemistry
Molecular biology
Causality
Quantum chemistry
Epistemology
Time Periods
21st century
20th century, late
20th century, early
20th century
19th century
Places
Spain
Paris (France)
Institutions
Institut Pasteur, Paris
Human Genome Project
Collège de France, Paris
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment