The Molecularization of Genetics

自第二次世界大战以来，遗传学的发展正在引导我们改变对科学变革过程的理解。这些发展包括遗传学的“分子化”；即，在DNA方面对经典遗传学的明显重新表述，以及随后在我们的解释和研究实践中的进步。沃特斯博士正在研究遗传学领域正在发生的新变化、它的基本策略，以及这一新策略如何推动科学解释和研究实践的进步发展。经典孟德尔遗传学和分子生物学之间的关系被科学哲学家视为非还原的范例，即，作为科学进步的一个例子，分子水平的解释回答了新的问题，但没有重新表述经典理论，也没有为先前回答的问题提供更好的答案。遗传学的例子在关于其他科学的简化前景、解释的性质和世界的形而上学组织的辩论中发挥着突出的作用。孟德尔的例子与物理学中常见的例子一起出现，标志着一个转折点。哲学家们现在把目光投向生物学，以洞察科学知识的本质。然而，沃特斯博士认为，目前的这些观点是错误的，阻碍了人们对遗传学发生的变化的正确理解。在这项研究中，沃特斯博士同时考察了经典遗传学和分子生物学的核心概念、解释模型和研究实践。他希望展示分子生物学如何加深对遗传的理解，首先是由经典遗传学提供的，然后是经典遗传学和分子生物学之间的理论联系如何导致遗传学、分子生物学和生物化学的研究实践之间卓有成效的相互作用。在此基础上，他提出了所有科学技术研究学科的反还原论的新模式。

Developments in genetics since World War II are leading us to revise our understanding of the processes of scientific change. These developments include the "molecularization" of genetics; i.e., the apparent reformulation of classical genetics in terms of DNA and the subsequent advances in our explanatory and investigative practices. Dr. Waters is examining the new kind of changes taking place in genetics, its underlying strategy, and how this new strategy works to bring about progressive developments in explanatory and investigative practices in science. The relationship between classical Mendelian genetics and molecular biology is viewed by philosophers of science as a paradigm of non- reduction, i.e. , as an example of scientific progress where the molecular-level account answers new questions, but does not reformulate the classical theory or provide better answers to the previously answered questions. The genetics example plays a prominent role in debates about the prospects of reduction in other sciences, the nature of explanation, and the metaphysical organization of the world. The appearance of the Mendelian example alongside the usual ones in physics marks a turning point. Philosophers now look to biology for insights into the nature of scientific knowledge. Dr. Waters, however, believes these current views are mistaken and have prevented a proper understanding of the changes that have taken place in genetics. In this study, Dr. Waters is examining in parallel the central concepts, explanatory models and investigative practices of both classical genetics and molecular biology. He hopes to show how molecular biology has deepened the understanding of heredity first provided by classical genetics and then how theoretical connections between classical genetics and molecular biology have led to a fruitful interplay between investigative practices of genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. From this, he draws a new model of antireductionism fo r all of the Science and Technology Studies disciplines.