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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010141918 | QH331 D37 2006 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Reasoning in Biological Discoveries brings together a series of essays, which focus on one of the most heavily debated topics of scientific discovery. Collected together and richly illustrated, Darden's essays represent a groundbreaking foray into one of the major problems facing scientists and philosophers of science. Divided into three sections, the essays focus on broad themes, notably historical and philosophical issues at play in discussions of biological mechanism; and the problem of developing and refining reasoning strategies, including interfield relations and anomaly resolution. Darden summarizes the philosophy of discovery and elaborates on the role that mechanisms play in biological discovery. Throughout the book, she uses historical case studies to extract advisory reasoning strategies for discovery. Examples in genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology reveal the process of discovery in action.
Table of Contents
| Part I Biological Mechanisms |
| 1 Thinking about mechanisms with PeterMachamer and Carl F. Craver |
| 2 Discovering mechanisms in neurobiology: the case of spatial memoryCarl F. Craver |
| 3 Strategies in the interfield discovery of the mechanism of protein synthesisCarl F. Craver |
| 4 Relations among fields: Mendelian, cytological and molecular mechanisms |
| Part II Reasoning Strategies: Relating Fields, Resolving Anomalies |
| 5 Interfield theoriesNancy Maull |
| 6 Theory construction in genetics |
| 7 Relations among fields in the evolutionary synthesis |
| 8 Selection type theoriesJoseph A. Cain |
| 9 Strategies for anomaly resolution: diagnosis and redesign |
| 10 Exemplars, abstractions, and anomalies: representations and theory change in Mendelian and molecular genetics |
| 11 Strategies for anomaly resolution in the case of adaptive mutation |
| Part III Discovering Mechanisms: Construction, Evaluation, Revision |
| 12 Strategies for discovering mechanisms: construction, evaluation, revision |
