Genetics and Reductionism (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology) by Sahotra Sarkar (1998-10-13) by Sahotra Sarkar (PDF)

Description

Sahotra Sarkar is Professor of Philosophy and Integrative Biology at the University of Texas Austin. He was born in Calcutta and grew up in Darjeeling, India, and was educated at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. He is a prolific author, social activist, and environmentalist working at the intersection of biology and society. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Katherine Dunlop, also Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Texas Austin, and their two daughters.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐If you want an ok introduction to the philosophy of genetics then this may do the job. I have not read other books on the topic so I can’t really compare but the book seems to cover a few of the major controversies in the philosophy of genetics of the last 100 years. I think the book could have been much clearer in its exposition, however, and much better organized. Sarkar also repeats himself quite a bit and his prose, dull (even more so than the average analytical philosopher’s!). Much of the discussion is focused on the different conceptions of reductionism in science and biology especially. Sarker seems to be skeptical of much reductionist programs in biology and genetics. His exposition of classical genetics such as the concept of heritability and his arguments against the use of the concept as an explanatory tool especially for the social sciences rings true but seems to offer little original arguments from the classic arguments set forth by the philosopher of science Ned Block and geneticist Richard Lewontin. The notion of heritability certainly has been abused by both well-intentioned but misinformed (especially social) scientists and charlatans alike and will likely continually be used by those who do not understand it or who have an agenda to push. Critical analysis from the book helps to rebut those efforts.Sarkar also explains how reductionism has been employed in molecular genetics and likewise argues against much of the explanatory usefulness or even possibility of such tasks. He also discusses what the term “genetics” means and associated problems with trying to define the term. May main objection to this work thus is a lack of clarity, organization and originality.

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