Rage against the what? The machine metaphor in biology

IF 1.7 1区哲学 Q1 HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Biology & Philosophy Pub Date : 2024-07-01 DOI:10.1007/s10539-024-09950-4

Ann-Sophie Barwich, Matthew James Rodriguez

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Machine metaphors abound in life sciences: animals as automata, mitochondria as engines, brains as computers. Philosophers have criticized machine metaphors for implying that life functions mechanically, misleading research. This approach misses a crucial point in applying machine metaphors to biological phenomena: their reciprocity. Analogical modeling of machines and biological entities is not a one-way street where our understanding of biology must obey a mechanical conception of machines. While our understanding of biological phenomena undoubtedly has been shaped by machine metaphors, the resulting insights have likewise altered our understanding of what machines are and what they can do.

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怒斥什么？生物学中的机器隐喻

生命科学中的机器隐喻比比皆是：动物是自动机，线粒体是发动机，大脑是计算机。哲学家批评机器隐喻暗示生命机械地运作，误导研究。这种做法忽略了将机器隐喻应用于生物现象的一个关键点：它们之间的互惠性。对机器和生物实体进行类比建模并不是一条单行道，我们对生物学的理解必须服从对机器的机械概念。虽然我们对生物现象的理解无疑是由机器隐喻塑造的，但由此产生的见解也同样改变了我们对机器是什么以及它们能做什么的理解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Biology & Philosophy 管理科学-科学史与科学哲学

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

8.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Recent decades have witnessed fascinating and controversial advances in the biological sciences. This journal answers the need for meta-theoretical analysis, both about the very nature of biology, as well as about its social implications. Biology and Philosophy is aimed at a broad readership, drawn from both the sciences and the humanities. The journal subscribes to no specific school of biology, nor of philosophy, and publishes work from authors of all persuasions and all disciplines. The editorial board reflects this attitude in its composition and its world-wide membership. Each issue of Biology and Philosophy carries one or more discussions or comparative reviews, permitting the in-depth study of important works and topics.