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Mechanistic Explanation of Biological Processes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Derek John Skillings
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Abstract

Biological processes are often explained by identifying the underlying mechanisms that generate a phenomenon of interest. I characterize a basic account of mechanistic explanation and then present three challenges to this account, illustrated with examples from molecular biology. The basic mechanistic account (1) is insufficient for explaining nonsequential and nonlinear dynamic processes, (2) is insufficient for explaining the inherently stochastic nature of many biological mechanisms, and (3) fails to give a proper framework for analyzing organization. I suggest that biological processes are best approached as a multidimensional gradient—with some processes being paradigmatic cases of mechanisms and some being marginal cases.

Type
Biology
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 82 , Issue 5 , December 2015 , pp. 1139 - 1151
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

I would like to thank Peter Godfrey-Smith, Massimo Pigliucci, and Arnon Levy for helpful comments and stimulating discussions. I am especially grateful to Shawn Simpson for providing illustrations. Thanks also to the many participants at the 2014 PSA who offered helpful feedback.

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