Book Chapters by Tudor Baetu
Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Mechanisms , 2017
abstract Biomedical research is built upon inferences transposing knowledge across systems–be it ... more abstract Biomedical research is built upon inferences transposing knowledge across systems–be it across species, between an experimental system and another, or from controlled clinical studies to routine healthcare contexts. While the notion of extrapolation received increasing attention in the recent philosophical literature , extrapolative inferences having distinct epistemic aims are often conflated together, thus making it difficult to assess the validity of such inferences. In this paper, we begin by characterizing the general form of extrapolations, whose structure and components allow a careful and systematic dissection of distinct types of extrapolations, highlighting the specific aims, methods and challenges associated with each type of extrapolation. Finally, we show how some contemporary research practices can challenge the boundaries of this classification, pointing to the need to consider extrapolations in their general form.
Causality in the Sciences, Jan 1, 2011
Current accounts of the relationship between classical genetics and molecular biology favor the ‘... more Current accounts of the relationship between classical genetics and molecular biology favor the ‘explanatory extension’ thesis, according to which molecular biology elucidates aspects
of inheritance unexplained by classical genetics. I identify however an unresolved tension between the ‘explanatory extension’ account and examples of ‘explanatory interference’ (cases when the accommodation of data from molecular biology results in a more precise genotyping and more adequate classical explanations). This paper provides a new way of analyzing the relationship between classical genetics and molecular biology capable of resolving this tension. The proposed solution makes use of the properties of mechanism schemas and sketches, which can be completed by elucidating some or all of their remaining ‘black boxes’ and instantiated via the filling-in of phenomenon-specific details. This result has implications for the reductionism antireductionism debate since it shows that molecular elucidations have a positive impact on classical explanations without entailing the reduction of classical genetics to molecular biology.
Mechanisms are organized systems of parts that operate in such a way as to produce phenomena. It ... more Mechanisms are organized systems of parts that operate in such a way as to produce phenomena. It would seem, however, that mechanistic explanations can be indefinitely detailed and expanded by bottoming out at lower levels of composition and by taking into consideration higher-level systems. Given the possibility of an indefinite descent to lower levels of composition, how deep does one need to go in order to claim that the explanation satisfactorily accounts for the phenomenon of interest? And given the possibility of a progressive integration into more holistic contexts, how far one needs to go in order to claim that the mechanism described in the explanation acts as an independent module capable of producing the phenomenon on its own? I argue that the answer to these questions lies in the elaboration of norms for evaluating the completeness of mechanistic explanations.
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Book Chapters by Tudor Baetu
of inheritance unexplained by classical genetics. I identify however an unresolved tension between the ‘explanatory extension’ account and examples of ‘explanatory interference’ (cases when the accommodation of data from molecular biology results in a more precise genotyping and more adequate classical explanations). This paper provides a new way of analyzing the relationship between classical genetics and molecular biology capable of resolving this tension. The proposed solution makes use of the properties of mechanism schemas and sketches, which can be completed by elucidating some or all of their remaining ‘black boxes’ and instantiated via the filling-in of phenomenon-specific details. This result has implications for the reductionism antireductionism debate since it shows that molecular elucidations have a positive impact on classical explanations without entailing the reduction of classical genetics to molecular biology.