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Reduction: For and Against Chapter 7 Eric Oberheim Sex & Death Breakdown The Antireductionist Consensus Reduction by degrees? Are genes DNA sequences plus contexts? The Reductionist Anticonsensus Theory of reduction Translation of vocabulary of theory from old to new; bridge principles Hence old and new theories made commensurable; classic -> molecular Bridge laws always possible according to logical empiricists due to relation with observation and experiment Objection to bridge laws Kuhn & Feyerabend: no theory neutral observation vocab Not applicable to genetics The Antireductionist consensus One-to-many translation e.g. dominant allele Therefore Mendelian kinds may have no distinctive molecular property Thus two complementary and mutually illuminating theories Tree of explanatory dependence Theories don’t invent mechanisms Tree is rooted in fundamental physical processes Discoveries in molecular biology shed light on classic genetics Reduction by degrees? Multiple realisation micro -> macro Wave / Particle duality? The law of independent assortment reduced to molecular level “Gory details” Kitcher - Gory details not important to the explanatory power of Mendelian principles e.g. round peg square hole No need for molecular explanation - too detailed Robust process explanation Actual sequence explanation often necessary Contd... Antireductionist many-many claim that... Old & new theories are integrated and causally explained But methodologically and conceptually independent Are genes DNA sequences plus context? Hull: gene cannot be reduced just to DNA Concrete structural object cannot be found; “position effects” Broader molecular context necessary Neumann-Held Gene as a process including developmental matrix Impossible gene to DNA correlation The reductionist Anticonsensus Says this reduction is not successful Must be a relation This raises three important Qs (i) more complex relationship? (ii) ideological baggage (iii) integrated Vs incorporated Who knows? Waters and Schaffner argue in favour of theory reduction in response to multiple realisation Genes -phenotypic code or difference makers? Transcription factors as distant from gene, “coding sequence” What is a gene? Grrrrrr we still don’t know! Gene does not name a unit of molecular bio. Shorthand for different units, a shifting tag. Different biologists use different meanings - exons Vs introns mRNA etc. Morphogenetic fields ploughed Unit of developing embryo mosaic of 3-D strong intra but weak inter field relations combination of gene, chemical milieu and environment develop mental output invariant Flying in the face of science Stable outcomes e.g. four-winged mutant ninja flies become two-winged again therefore developmental bio. Must be able to be reduced to molecular niveau poss explain genes on Macro-scale thus actual seq explanations do not undermine explanatory significance And the winner is... NOBODY progress under both headings wishy-washy not really independent theories Now you do that thing where you knock on the table ACHTUNG! Bitte beachten Sie, dass fuer naechste Woche Kapitel 8 zu lesen ist Wer das nicht gelesen hat, darf nicht hereinkommen