Explanation In Biology

Author : Pierre-Alain Braillard,Christophe Malaterre
Publisher : Springer
Page : 438 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2015-06-10
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789401798228

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Explanation in Biology by Pierre-Alain Braillard,Christophe Malaterre Pdf

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.

Author : Kenneth F. Schaffner
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 654 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Medical
ISBN : 0226735923

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Discovery and Explanation in Biology and Medicine by Kenneth F. Schaffner Pdf

Kenneth F. Schaffner compares the practice of biological and medical research and shows how traditional topics in philosophy of science—such as the nature of theories and of explanation—can illuminate the life sciences. While Schaffner pays some attention to the conceptual questions of evolutionary biology, his chief focus is on the examples that immunology, human genetics, neuroscience, and internal medicine provide for examinations of the way scientists develop, examine, test, and apply theories. Although traditional philosophy of science has regarded scientific discovery—the questions of creativity in science—as a subject for psychological rather than philosophical study, Schaffner argues that recent work in cognitive science and artificial intelligence enables researchers to rationally analyze the nature of discovery. As a philosopher of science who holds an M.D., he has examined biomedical work from the inside and uses detailed examples from the entire range of the life sciences to support the semantic approach to scientific theories, addressing whether there are "laws" in the life sciences as there are in the physical sciences. Schaffner's novel use of philosophical tools to deal with scientific research in all of its complexity provides a distinctive angle on basic questions of scientific evaluation and explanation.

Author : Irwin Savodnik
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 1977-01-01
Category : Biology
ISBN : 0895610329

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Concept and Explanation in Biology by Irwin Savodnik Pdf

Author : Samantha Fowler,Rebecca Roush,James Wise
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 618 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2018-01-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 9888407457

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Concepts of Biology by Samantha Fowler,Rebecca Roush,James Wise Pdf

Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand.We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today's instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand--and apply--key concepts.

Author : DK
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 714 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2021-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780744050769

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The Biology Book by DK Pdf

Learn about the most important discoveries and theories of this science in The Biology Book. Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Biology in this overview guide to the subject, great for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Biology Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in. This captivating book will broaden your understanding of Biology, with: - More than 95 ideas and events key to the development of biology and the life sciences - Packed with facts, charts, timelines and graphs to help explain core concepts - A visual approach to big subjects with striking illustrations and graphics throughout - Easy to follow text makes topics accessible for people at any level of understanding The Biology Book is a captivating introduction to understanding the living world and explaining how its organisms work and interact - whether microbes, mushrooms, or mammals. Here you'll discover key areas of the life sciences, including ecology, zoology, and biotechnology, through exciting text and bold graphics. Your Biology Questions, Simply Explained This book will outline big biological ideas, like the mysteries of DNA and genetic inheritance; and how we learned to develop vaccines that control diseases. If you thought it was difficult to learn about the living world, The Biology Book presents key information in a clear layout. Here you'll learn about cloning, neuroscience, human evolution, and gene editing, and be introduced to the scientists who shaped these subjects, such as Carl Linnaeus, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Charles Darwin, and Gregor Mendel. The Big Ideas Series With millions of copies sold worldwide, The Biology Book is part of the award-winning Big Ideas series from DK. The series uses striking graphics along with engaging writing, making big topics easy to understand.

Author : Marie I. Kaiser
Publisher : Springer
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2015-12-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319253107

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Reductive Explanation in the Biological Sciences by Marie I. Kaiser Pdf

This book develops a philosophical account that reveals the major characteristics that make an explanation in the life sciences reductive and distinguish them from non-reductive explanations. Understanding what reductive explanations are enables one to assess the conditions under which reductive explanations are adequate and thus enhances debates about explanatory reductionism. The account of reductive explanation presented in this book has three major characteristics. First, it emerges from a critical reconstruction of the explanatory practice of the life sciences itself. Second, the account is monistic since it specifies one set of criteria that apply to explanations in the life sciences in general. Finally, the account is ontic in that it traces the reductivity of an explanation back to certain relations that exist between objects in the world (such as part-whole relations and level relations), rather than to the logical relations between sentences. Beginning with a disclosure of the meta-philosophical assumptions that underlie the author’s analysis of reductive explanation, the book leads into the debate about reduction(ism) in the philosophy of biology and continues with a discussion on the two perspectives on explanatory reduction that have been proposed in the philosophy of biology so far. The author scrutinizes how the issue of reduction becomes entangled with explanation and analyzes two concepts, the concept of a biological part and the concept of a level of organization. The results of these five chapters constitute the ground on which the author bases her final chapter, developing her ontic account of reductive explanation.

Author : Marie I. Kaiser,Oliver R. Scholz,Daniel Plenge,Andreas Hüttemann
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 365 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2013-11-29
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789400775633

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Explanation in the Special Sciences by Marie I. Kaiser,Oliver R. Scholz,Daniel Plenge,Andreas Hüttemann Pdf

Biology and history are often viewed as closely related disciplines, with biology informed by history, especially in its task of charting our evolutionary past. Maximizing the opportunities for cross-fertilization in these two fields requires an accurate reckoning of their commonalities and differences—precisely what this volume sets out to achieve. Specially commissioned essays by a team of recognized international researchers cover the full panoply of topics in these fields and include notable contributions on the correlativity of evolutionary and historical explanations, applying to history the latest causal-mechanical approach in the philosophy of biology, and the question of generalized laws that might pertain across the two subjects. The collection opens with a vital interrogation of general issues on explanation that apart from potentially fruitful areas of interaction (could the etiology of the causal-mechanical perspective in biology account for the historical trajectory of the Roman Empire?) this volume also seeks to chart relative certainties distinguishing explanations in biology and history. It also assesses techniques such as the use of probabilities in biological reconstruction, deployed to overcome the inevitable gaps in physical evidence on early evolution. Methodologies such as causal graphs and semantic explanation receive in-depth analysis. Contributions from a host of prominent and widely read philosophers ensure that this new volume has the stature of a major addition to the literature. ​

Author : Frank H. Heppner
Publisher : McGraw-Hill Companies
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 1990
Category : Biology
ISBN : CORNELL:31924059787816

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Professor Farnsworth's Explanations in Biology by Frank H. Heppner Pdf

A supplement to the collected lectures of "Professor Farnsworth" aims to cover the basic topics most often taught in general biology.

Author : Alex Mills
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 433 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2018-01-01
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781487593377

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Biology of Sex by Alex Mills Pdf

This text explains the biological aspects of human sex by using direct and intriguing comparisons with the many variations in sexual systems among non-human organisms.

Author : Kostas Kampourakis
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 765 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2013-06-18
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789400765375

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The Philosophy of Biology by Kostas Kampourakis Pdf

This book brings together for the first time philosophers of biology to write about some of the most central concepts and issues in their field from the perspective of biology education. The chapters of the book cover a variety of topics ranging from traditional ones, such as biological explanation, biology and religion or biology and ethics, to contemporary ones, such as genomics, systems biology or evolutionary developmental biology. Each of the 30 chapters covers the respective philosophical literature in detail and makes specific suggestions for biology education. The aim of this book is to inform biology educators, undergraduate and graduate students in biology and related fields, students in teacher training programs, and curriculum developers about the current state of discussion on the major topics in the philosophy of biology and its implications for teaching biology. In addition, the book can be valuable to philosophers of biology as an introductory text in undergraduate and graduate courses.

Author : Michael Peterson,Dennis Venema
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 285 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2021-04-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781107031487

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Biology, Religion, and Philosophy by Michael Peterson,Dennis Venema Pdf

A comprehensive and accessible survey of the major issues at the biology-religion interface.

Author : Bruce Alberts
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Cytology
ISBN : 0815332181

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Molecular Biology of The Cell by Bruce Alberts Pdf

Author : Lisa Bartee,Walter Shiner,Catherine Creech
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1636350410

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Principles of Biology by Lisa Bartee,Walter Shiner,Catherine Creech Pdf

The Principles of Biology sequence (BI 211, 212 and 213) introduces biology as a scientific discipline for students planning to major in biology and other science disciplines. Laboratories and classroom activities introduce techniques used to study biological processes and provide opportunities for students to develop their ability to conduct research.

Author : Elizabeth Martin,Robert Hine
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 673 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9780198714378

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A Dictionary of Biology by Elizabeth Martin,Robert Hine Pdf

Fully revised and updated for the seventh edition, this dictionary offers clear and concise entries providing comprehensive coverage of biology, biophysics, and biochemistry. Over 250 new entries include terms such as Broca's area, comparative genomic hybridization, mirror neuron, and Pandoravirus. Appendices include classifications of the animal and plant kingdoms, the geological time scale, major mass extinctions of species, model organisms and their genomes, Nobel prizewinners, and a new appendix on evolution.

Author : Peter McLaughlin
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2000-12-18
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781139428538

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What Functions Explain by Peter McLaughlin Pdf

This 2001 book offers an examination of functional explanation as it is used in biology and the social sciences, and focuses on the kinds of philosophical presuppositions that such explanations carry with them. It tackles such questions as: why are some things explained functionally while others are not? What do the functional explanations tell us about how these objects are conceptualized? What do we commit ourselves to when we give and take functional explanations in the life sciences and the social sciences? McLaughlin gives a critical review of the debate on functional explanation in the philosophy of science. He discusses the history of the philosophical question of teleology, and provides a comprehensive review of the post-war literature on functional explanation. What Functions Explain provides a sophisticated and detailed Aristotelian analysis of our concept of natural functions, and offers a positive contribution to the ongoing debate on the topic.