Explanation in Biology: An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences (History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences Book 11)

"Patterns of explanation in biology have long been recognized as different from those deployed in other scientific disciplines, especially that of physics. Celebrating the diversity of interpretative models found in biology, this volume details their varying types as well as explaining their relationships to one another. It covers the key differentials with other sciences in the nature of explanation, such as the existence in biology of varieties unheard of in the physical sciences, such as teleological, evolutionary and even functional explanations. Offering a wealth of fresh analysis of the phenomenon, chapters examine aspects ranging from the role of mathematics in explaining cell development to the complexities thrown up by evolutionary-developmental biology, where explanation is altered by multidisciplinarity itself. They cover major domains such as ecology and systems biology, as well as contemporary trends, such as the mechanistic explanations spawned by progress in molecular biology. With contributions from researchers of many different nationalities, the book provides a many-angled perspective on a revealing feature of the discipline of biology."--Publisher's description Front Matter....Pages i-vi Explanation in Biology: An Introduction....Pages 1-28 Front Matter....Pages 29-29 Is There an Explanation for ... the Diversity of Explanations in Biological Studies?....Pages 31-46 Explanation in Systems Biology: Is It All About Mechanisms?....Pages 47-72 Historical Contingency and the Explanation of Evolutionary Trends....Pages 73-90 Developmental Noise: Explaining the Specific Heterogeneity of Individual Organisms....Pages 91-110 Front Matter....Pages 111-111 Explaining in Contemporary Molecular Biology: Beyond Mechanisms....Pages 113-133 Evolutionary Developmental Biology and the Limits of Philosophical Accounts of Mechanistic Explanation....Pages 135-173 The Relevance of Irrelevance: Explanation in Systems Biology....Pages 175-198 Generalizing Mechanistic Explanations Using Graph-Theoretic Representations....Pages 199-225 Front Matter....Pages 227-227 Mathematical Explanation in Biology....Pages 229-247 Explanation and Organizing Principles in Systems Biology....Pages 249-264 Are Dynamic Mechanistic Explanations Still Mechanistic?....Pages 265-292 Front Matter....Pages 293-293 Heuristics, Descriptions, and the Scope of Mechanistic Explanation....Pages 295-318 Prospect and Limits of Explaining Biological Systems in Engineering Terms....Pages 319-344 From Mechanisms to Mathematical Models and Back to Mechanisms: Quantitative Mechanistic Explanations....Pages 345-363 Front Matter....Pages 365-365 Biological Explanations as Cursory Covering Law Explanations....Pages 367-385 Explanatory Interdependence: The Case of Stem Cell Reprogramming....Pages 387-412 Explaining Causal Selection with Explanatory Causal Economy: Biology and Beyond....Pages 413-438 Patterns of explanation in biology have long been recognized as different from those deployed in other scientific disciplines, especially physics. Celebrating the diversity of explanatory models found in biology, this volume details their varying types as well as their relationships to one another. It covers the key current debates in the philosophy of biology over the nature of explanation, and its apparent diversity that stems from a variety of historical, causal, mechanistic, or mathmatical explanatory practices. Offering a wealth of fresh analyses on the nature of explanation in contemporary biology chapters examine aspects ranging from the role of mathematics in explaining cell development to the complexities thrown up by evolutionary-developmental biology, where explanation is altered by multidisciplinarity itself. They cover major domains such as ecology and systems biology, as well as contemporary trends, such as the mechanistic explanations spawned by progress in molecular biology. With contributions from researchers of many different nationalities, the book provides a many-angled perspective on a revealing feature of the discipline of biology This book offers an updated review of the physiology of the carotid body chemoreceptors. It provides the trends in the field as it contains results in the topics that are at the frontiers of future developments in O2-sensing in chemoreceptor cells.