Modern Bioscience and the Concept of Life

前言这项为期两年的研究计划将由一所主要大学出版社出版，对现代生物物理学中的“生命”概念进行历史和哲学分析。其目的将是通过研究它在现代生物学中的历史发展来阐明这一概念，特别是因为这已经在生物物理学和分子生物学中得到了明显的体现。智力价值尽管在文献中对生命和“活力”的概念进行了调查处理，但在现代实验生物学中仍有相当大的必要对生命的概念进行仔细的分析。拟议的项目不同于以前的“百科全书”调查(例如，霍尔，1969)，也没有被最近的讨论所复制(Hunter 2000；Durr等人)。2002年；Maienschein 2003)。该项目将从科学、历史、制度、哲学和伦理的综合角度处理这一概念史。需要这样的概念史来更充分地定位当前关于胚胎干细胞研究、生命终结问题、克隆问题以及与现代生命科学的戏剧性发展相关的其他问题的许多辩论。这些问题源于对细胞生物学、分子遗传学、神经生理学和发育生物学基本过程的理解和技术控制。这项拟议的研究将对生命科学中的“生物物理”传统提供有限的历史分析，并将阐明这些发展与现代“分子”生物学中的生命概念之间的联系。作为第二个主要目标，该项目将在英美“分析”生物学哲学中对这些问题的讨论与追溯到康德遗产的大陆生物学中发生的讨论之间建立一个接口。这种传统的对接将发展出比目前生物学哲学的这些替代方法之间更有成效的讨论。在这方面，这项研究将在传统之间建立一座桥梁。布罗德影响国际组织进行这项研究的基本动机与围绕知识问题的社会和公共政策问题有关。毫无疑问，无论是在人类世界还是在非人类世界，关于“活着”意味着什么的相互竞争的概念，都处于当前关于几个问题的公开辩论的中心，这些问题涉及生命科学、伦理、宗教和公共政策的交叉。通常情况下，各政党目前只是简单地相互谈论，除了直截了当的政治解决方案外，看不到任何解决方案。这本书项目开发的分析将试图通过对在这些讨论中发挥作用的中心概念进行详细的历史和哲学分析，来缓和(如果不一定是解决)这一讨论。虽然最近有一些作品提出了一些类似的主题(Maienschein 2003)，但这部作品的目的是以更全面的历史视角来探讨这些问题，并涉及一些基本的哲学问题，这是“分析的”和“大陆的”观点之间的比较讨论可以理想地提供的。理想的做法是创造一种更富有成效的跨传统对话。由此产生的工作应该对科学史学家、生物伦理学家、哲学家、神学家和公共政策专家有用。它应该对任何从事分子生物学和发育生物学研究的更广泛影响的教学人员有价值，特别是在学院和大学层面。

IntroductionThe proposed two-year research project will produce for publication by a major university press a historical and philosophical analysis of the conception of "life" in modern biophysics. The intent will be to illuminate this concept through a study of its historical development in modern biology, particularly as this has been manifest in biophysics and molecular biology.Intellectual MeritAlthough there have been survey treatments of the notion of life and "vitality" in the literature, there is considerable need for a careful analysis of the conception of life in modern experimental biology. The proposed project is different from prior "encyclopedic" surveys (e.g. Hall, 1969), and it is not replicated by more recent discussions (Hunter 2000; Durr et al. 2002; Maienschein 2003). The project will deal with this conceptual history from a combined scientific, historical, institutional, philosophical, and ethical perspective. Such a conceptual history is needed to position more adequately many of the current debates over such issues as embryonic stem-cell research, end-of-life issues, the question of cloning, and other issues associated with the dramatic developments of modern life science. These issues have resulted from the understanding and technological control of fundamental processes of cellular biology, molecular genetics, neurophysiology, and developmental biology. The proposed study will supply both a limited historical analysis of the "biophysical" tradition in the life sciences, and it will illuminate the linkages between these developments and the conception of life in modern "molecular" biology. As a second major goal, the project will develop an interface between discussions of these issues in Anglo-American "analytic" philosophy of biology, and those occurring in Continental biology reaching back to the heritage of Kant. This interfacing of traditions will develop a more fruitful discussion than now exists between these alternative approaches to the philosophy of biology. In this respect the study will form a bridge between traditions.Broader ImpactsThe PI's fundamental motivation for undertaking this research is tied to the social and public policy issues that surround the intellectual questions. It is unquestionable that competing notions of what it means to be "alive," both in the human and non-human world, are at the center of current public debates over several issues involve the intersection of the life sciences, ethics, religion and public policy. Typically parties at present simply talk past one another, and no resolution is in sight beyond a blunt political one. The analysis developed by this book project will seek to moderate, if not necessarily resolve, this discussion by supplying a detailed historical and philosophical analysis of the central concept in play in these discussions. Although there are some recent works that have developed some similar themes (Maienschein 2003), this work is intended to develop the issues with a fuller historical perspective, and engage some of fundamental philosophical issues that a comparative discussion between "analytic" and "Continental" perspectives can ideally provide. The ideal is to create a more fruitful dialogue across traditions. The resultant work should be of use to historians of science, bioethicists, philosophers, theologians, and public policy experts. It should be of value to any who are involved in teaching about the wider impact of research in molecular biology, and developmental biology, particularly at the college and university levels.