PMID: 6029099Aug 11, 1967Paper

Antireductionism and molecular biology. Though the antireductionist thesis in unwarranted, research in classical biology may well be of value

Science
K F Schaffner

Abstract

My general conclusion, then, is that, given the current state of biological science, there may be good heuristic reasons for not attempting in all possible areas to develop physicochemical explanations of biological phenomena, and good reasons for attempting to formulate specifically biological theories. This, however, is an argument which supports an irreducibility thesis for methodological reasons. Any attempt to twist this into a claim of real irreducibility for all time is, in the light of recent work in molecular biology, logically untenable, empirically unwarranted, and heuristically useless.

References

Mar 1, 1963·Journal of Theoretical Biology·W M Elsasser
Jun 2, 1961·Science·B COMMONER
Jan 1, 1961·Journal of Theoretical Biology·W M ELSASSER

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Citations

Jul 1, 1978·New Zealand Veterinary Journal·A de Kruif, A Brand
Jun 23, 1970·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta·B BlicharskaF Noack
Sep 21, 2015·Studies in History and Philosophy of Science·Sahotra Sarkar
Nov 17, 1967·Science·W A van Bergeijk

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