Bridging two different ways of explaining biological life
In short: Researchers examining the philosophy of biology found that two major explanatory frameworks—the new mechanists and the autonomy approach—could be constructively integrated. While one focuses on how organized components produce phenomena, the other focuses on how organisms achieve self-maintenance.
The authors argue that the mechanistic framework could benefit from considering processes outside individual mechanisms, while the autonomy approach could be grounded by studying how specific components interact to maintain a system. They propose that recent developments in work, constraints, and control provide a bridge between these two traditions.
Why it matters: Understanding life requires combining the study of individual parts with the study of whole-organism self-maintenance.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Bich and Bechtel (2021). Mechanism, autonomy and biological explanation. Biology & Philosophy. · cc-by
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