Darwinism & Reductionism

April 28, 2007 by Dr. Mc.

In his article, “Is Biology Reducible to the Laws of Physics?,” John Dupré criticizes Alex Rosenberg’s views in, Darwinian Reductionism: Or, How to Stop Worrying and Love Molecular Biology. The article is well written, but complex. Basically it says Rosenberg’s belief that all biology can be reduced to laws of physics is bunk. I find this interesting because both believe in Darwinian evolution, but Dupré admits that science does not support the idea that one can (ever) start from laws of physics and explain biology. For instance there is no way that the influence of outward forms of organisms (phenotypes) can explain the configuration of genes. Dupré points out that there are approximately 23,000 genes, but does not specifically note that these are supposed to generate approximately 100,000 proteins. To explain life by studying the microbiology of the cell would be like trying to understand communication by studying the components of a cell phone (my analogy, not Dupré’s). Dupré is a sociologist, and is therefore adverse to reductionism, but in this case he is also right.

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