Biological mistakes: what they are and what they mean for the experimental biologistOderberg, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9585-0515, Hill, J., Austin, C., Bojak, I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1765-3502, Cinotti, F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2921-0901 and Gibbins, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0372-5352 (2023) Biological mistakes: what they are and what they mean for the experimental biologist. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. ISSN 1464-3537 (In Press)
It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing. To link to this item DOI: 10.1086/724444 Abstract/SummaryOrganisms and other biological entities are mistake-prone: they get things wrong. The entities of pure physics, such as atoms and inorganic molecules, do not make mistakes: they do what they do according to physical law, with no room for error except on the part of the physicist or their theory. We set out a novel framework for understanding biology and its demarcation from physics – that of mistake-making. We distinguish biological mistakes from mere failures. We then propose a rigorous definition of mistakes that, although invoking the concept of function, is compatible with various views about what functions are. The definition of mistake-making is agential, since mistakes do not just happen ¬– at least in the sense analysed here – but are made. This requires, then, a notion of biological agency which we set out as a definition of the Minimal Biological Agent. The paper then considers a series of objections to the theory presented here, along with our replies. Two key features of our theory of mistakes are, first, that it is a supplement to, not a replacement for, existing general frameworks within which biology is understood and practised. Secondly, it is designed to be experimentally productive. Hence we end with a series of case studies where mistake theory can be shown to be useful in the potential generation of research questions and novel hypotheses of interest to the working biologist.
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