The emergence of systems biology raises many fascinating questions: What does it mean to take a systems approach to problems in biology? To what extent is the use of mathematical and computational modelling changing the life sciences? How does the availability of big data influence research practices? What are the major challenges for biomedical research in the years to come? This book addresses such questions of relevance not only to philosophers and biologists but also to readers interested in the broader implications of systems biology for science and society.
The book features reflections and original work by experts from across the disciplines including systems biologists, philosophers, and interdisciplinary scholars investigating the social and educational aspects of systems biology. In response to the same set of questions, the experts develop and defend their personal perspectives on the distinctive character of systems biology and the challenges that lie ahead. Readers are invited to engage with different views on the questions addressed, and may explore numerous themes relating to the philosophy of systems biology.
This edited work will appeal to scholars and all levels, from undergraduates to researchers, and to those interested in a variety of scholarly approaches such as systems biology, mathematical and computational modelling, cell and molecular biology, genomics, systems theory, and of course, philosophy of biology.
Table of Content
1. Systems Biology: Negotiating between Holism and Reductionism (William Bechtel).- 2. A System Approach to Cancer. From Things to Relations (Marta Bertolaso).- 3. Systems Biology in the Broad Sense (Fred C. Boogerd).- 4. Enactments of Systems Biology (Annamaria Carusi).- 5. Systems Biology, Choices Arising (Eric H. Davidson).- 6. An Affinity to Theories in Biology (Manfred Drack).- 7. Interdisciplinarity, Philosophy and Systems Biology (Melinda Bonnie Fagan).- 8. Problems in Mathematizing Systems Biology (Gabriele Gramelsberger).- 9. Towards a Methodology for Systems Biology (Fridolin Gross).- 10. Exploring the Metabolic Marketplace through the Lens of Systems Biology (Jan-Hendrik S. Hofmeyr).- 11. Moving from Genetics to Systems Biology (Stefan Hohmann).- 12. The Importance of Being Dynamic: Systems Biology beyond the Hairball (Johannes Jaeger).- 13. Extracting Phenomena, Integrating Explanations, and Styling Representations: Some Frontiers for Philosophizing about Biology (Nicholaos Jones).- 14. Systems Biology: Science or Technoscience? (Karen Kastenhofer).- 15. Biological Complexity and the need for Computational Approaches (Hiroaki Kitano).- 16. Systems Biology through the Concept of Emergence (Alexey Kolodkin).- 17. From Biological Research to a Philosophy of Systems Biology: the Ground Covered and some Challenges that lie Ahead, Constantinos Mekios).- 18. Complexity Organizing Principles: Prerequisites for Life (Mihajlo Mesarović).- 19. Systems Biology Modeling Practices: Reflections of a Philosopher-Ethnographer (Nancy J. Nersessian).- 20. Systems Biology beyond the genome (Denis Noble).- 21. A view on Systems Biology beyond Scale and Method (Isabelle S. Peter).- 22. From a Fascination with Arrow Diagrams to Witnessing a Tipping Point in Biology (Eberhard O. Voit).- 23. From Microscopes to Macroscopes: Advancing Biomedical Research through Systems Approaches (Olaf Wolkenhauer).
About the author
Sara Green holds a Ph D degree in Science Studies from Aarhus University on the topic: “Systems Biology and the Quest for General Principles”. Her research focuses on the philosophical implications of new strategies in the life sciences with special focus on systems biology and systems medicine. Sara was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, in 2014/2015, and is now post.doc. at the Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen.
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