engleski

The Origin of Genes: Causal-Mechanical Explanation without Decomposition

The new causal-mechanical (CM) account of scientific explanation has been acclaimed as especially suitable for molecular biology because of its closeness to scientific practice. However, it has been recently criticized as over- permissive in distinguishing acceptable explanations. We examine two particular issues arising from the levels explanatory constraint: the right-level and level-grounding issues. We argue, through the case-study of de novo genes origin, against the new mechanists' CM. Namely, the 'one level below' is not a necessary condition for CM, and in the cases of evolutionary constrained systems, the identification of levels and component-parts' role are fixed by selective pressures.

Explanation, molecular biology, New Mechanists

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