Strategies of Explanatory Abstraction in Molecular Systems Biology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10708245 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicholaos Jones (0000-0003-4928-5089, University of Alabama in Huntsville, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 955-968 |
| Publication date | 2018-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1086/699742 |
| OpenAlex | W2542455965 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
I consider three explanatory strategies from recent systems biology that are driven by mathematics as much as mechanistic detail. Analysis of differential equations drives the first strategy; topological analysis of network motifs drives the second; mathematical theorems from control engineering drive the third. I also distinguish three abstraction types: aggregations, which simplify by condensing details; generalizations, which simplify by generalizing details; and structurations, which simplify by contextualizing details. Using a common explanandum as a reference point—namely, the robust perfect adaptation of chemotaxis in Escherichia coli —I argue that each strategy targets various abstraction types to different mechanistic details
Abstraction · Adaptation (eye) · Bioinformatics · Biology · Epistemology · Mathematical and theoretical biology · Point (geometry) · Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks · Computer Science · Gene Regulatory Network Analysis · Mathematics · Philosophy and History of Science · Theoretical Computer Science
In Search of Mechanisms
What is a (social) structural explanation?
Explanation
Systems biology and the integration of mechanistic explanation and mathematical explanation
When mechanistic models explain
Topological explanations and robustness in biological sciences
Keeping quiet on the ontology of models
The explanatory role of abstraction processes in models
Dynamic mechanistic explanation
Thinking about Mechanisms
Abstraction and the Organization of Mechanisms
Mechanistic Explanation in Systems Biology
Abstract Explanations in Science
Complements, Not Competitors
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |