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Moving beyond the influence of molecular genetics on the debate about reductionism in philosophy of biology

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The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking

Part of the book series: Logic, Epistemology, and The Unity of Science ((LEUS,volume 6))

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Abstract

The rise of molecular genetics has had a fundamental influence on the development of philosophy of biology because of its central role in the debate concerning reductionism. I begin by describing notable attempts to reduce Mendelian genetics to molecular genetics, the lightning rod of reductionist attempts in philosophy of biology. I then suggest that the syntactic reductionist may wish to focus on neglected biological cases (e.g. ecosystem evolution) that may eventually yield laws that could provide easier reduction than the attempted reduction in genetics

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Frederic Bouchard

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  1. Frederic Bouchard
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Collége de France, Paris, France

    Anne Fagot-Largeault

  2. Université de Lille, Paris, France

    Shahid Rahman

  3. Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal and Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

    Juan Manuel Torres

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Bouchard, F. (2007). Moving beyond the influence of molecular genetics on the debate about reductionism in philosophy of biology. In: Fagot-Largeault, A., Rahman, S., Torres, J.M. (eds) The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking. Logic, Epistemology, and The Unity of Science, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5664-2_5

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