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Papers by Pierre-Alain Braillard

Research paper thumbnail of Explanation in Biology: An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences

Despite the philosophical clash between deductive-nomological and 6 mechanistic accounts of expla... more Despite the philosophical clash between deductive-nomological and 6 mechanistic accounts of explanation, in scientific practice, both approaches are 7 required in order to achieve more complete explanations and guide the discovery 8 process. I defend this thesis by discussing the case of mathematical models in 9 systems biology. Not only such models complement the mechanistic explanations 10 of molecular biology by accounting for poorly understood aspects of biologi11 cal phenomena, they can also reveal unsuspected ‘black boxes’ in mechanistic 12 explanations, thus prompting their revision while providing new insights about the 13 causal-mechanistic structure of the world. 14

Research paper thumbnail of What can be learned about biology from an engineering perspective? (Proceedings of the CAPE International Workshops, 2012. Part I: IHPST, Paris - CAPE, Kyoto philosophy of biology workshop)

CAPE Studies in Applied Philosophy and Ethics Series, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Explanation in Biology: An Introduction

History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 2015

ABSTRACT Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation i... more ABSTRACT Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation in other scientific disciplines, in particular from explanation in physics. One of the reasons was the existence in biology of explanation types that were unheard of in the physical sciences: teleological and functional explanations, historical and evolutionary explanations. More recently, owing in part to the rise of molecular biology, biological explanations have been depicted as mechanisms. This profusion of explanatory patterns is typical of biology. The aim of the present volume Explanation in Biology. An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences is to shed some new light on the diversity of explanation models in biology. In this introductory chapter, we recall the general philosophical context of scientific explanation as it has unfolded in the past seven decades, and highlight the specific issues that models of explanation have faced in biology. We then show how the different essays gathered in this collective volume tackle aspects of this important debate.

Research paper thumbnail of Explanation in Biology

History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Une objectivité kaléidoscopique : construire l'image scientifique du monde

Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme ... more Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme et l'image scientifique de l'homme. La première est obtenue à partir de la façon dont nous prenons conscience de nous-mêmes comme humains dans le monde. La seconde correspond à ce que les différentes sciences nous amènent à postuler sur la manière dont l'homme est constitué. Van Fraassen, lui, étend au monde ces concepts initialement élaborés pour décrire l'être humain 2. Dans cet article, nous discutons la façon dont on ...

Research paper thumbnail of (2015) Explanation in Biology: An Introduction

Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation in other s... more Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation in other scientific disciplines, in particular from explanation in physics. One of the reasons was the existence in biology of explanation types that were unheard of in the physical sciences: teleological and functional explanations, historical and evolutionary explanations. More recently, owing in part to the rise of molecular biology, biological explanations have been depicted as mechanisms. This profusion of explanatory patterns is typical of biology. The aim of the present volume Explanation in Biology. An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences is to shed some new light on the diversity of explanation models in biology. In this introductory chapter, we recall the general philosophical context of scientific explanation as it has unfolded in the past seven decades, and highlight the specific issues that models of explanation have faced in biology. We then show how the different essays gathered in this collective volume tackle aspects of this important debate.

Research paper thumbnail of Une objectivité kaléidoscopique : construire l'image scientifique du monde

Philosophie, 2011

Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme ... more Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme et l'image scientifique de l'homme. La première est obtenue à partir de la façon dont nous prenons conscience de nous-mêmes comme humains dans le monde. La seconde correspond à ce que les différentes sciences nous amènent à postuler sur la manière dont l'homme est constitué. Van Fraassen, lui, étend au monde ces concepts initialement élaborés pour décrire l'être humain 2. Dans cet article, nous discutons la façon dont on ...

Research paper thumbnail of Explanation in Biology: An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences

Despite the philosophical clash between deductive-nomological and 6 mechanistic accounts of expla... more Despite the philosophical clash between deductive-nomological and 6 mechanistic accounts of explanation, in scientific practice, both approaches are 7 required in order to achieve more complete explanations and guide the discovery 8 process. I defend this thesis by discussing the case of mathematical models in 9 systems biology. Not only such models complement the mechanistic explanations 10 of molecular biology by accounting for poorly understood aspects of biologi11 cal phenomena, they can also reveal unsuspected ‘black boxes’ in mechanistic 12 explanations, thus prompting their revision while providing new insights about the 13 causal-mechanistic structure of the world. 14

Research paper thumbnail of What can be learned about biology from an engineering perspective? (Proceedings of the CAPE International Workshops, 2012. Part I: IHPST, Paris - CAPE, Kyoto philosophy of biology workshop)

CAPE Studies in Applied Philosophy and Ethics Series, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Explanation in Biology: An Introduction

History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 2015

ABSTRACT Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation i... more ABSTRACT Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation in other scientific disciplines, in particular from explanation in physics. One of the reasons was the existence in biology of explanation types that were unheard of in the physical sciences: teleological and functional explanations, historical and evolutionary explanations. More recently, owing in part to the rise of molecular biology, biological explanations have been depicted as mechanisms. This profusion of explanatory patterns is typical of biology. The aim of the present volume Explanation in Biology. An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences is to shed some new light on the diversity of explanation models in biology. In this introductory chapter, we recall the general philosophical context of scientific explanation as it has unfolded in the past seven decades, and highlight the specific issues that models of explanation have faced in biology. We then show how the different essays gathered in this collective volume tackle aspects of this important debate.

Research paper thumbnail of Explanation in Biology

History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Une objectivité kaléidoscopique : construire l'image scientifique du monde

Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme ... more Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme et l'image scientifique de l'homme. La première est obtenue à partir de la façon dont nous prenons conscience de nous-mêmes comme humains dans le monde. La seconde correspond à ce que les différentes sciences nous amènent à postuler sur la manière dont l'homme est constitué. Van Fraassen, lui, étend au monde ces concepts initialement élaborés pour décrire l'être humain 2. Dans cet article, nous discutons la façon dont on ...

Research paper thumbnail of (2015) Explanation in Biology: An Introduction

Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation in other s... more Explanation in biology has long been characterized as being different from explanation in other scientific disciplines, in particular from explanation in physics. One of the reasons was the existence in biology of explanation types that were unheard of in the physical sciences: teleological and functional explanations, historical and evolutionary explanations. More recently, owing in part to the rise of molecular biology, biological explanations have been depicted as mechanisms. This profusion of explanatory patterns is typical of biology. The aim of the present volume Explanation in Biology. An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences is to shed some new light on the diversity of explanation models in biology. In this introductory chapter, we recall the general philosophical context of scientific explanation as it has unfolded in the past seven decades, and highlight the specific issues that models of explanation have faced in biology. We then show how the different essays gathered in this collective volume tackle aspects of this important debate.

Research paper thumbnail of Une objectivité kaléidoscopique : construire l'image scientifique du monde

Philosophie, 2011

Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme ... more Dans Science, Perception and Reality 1, Sellars distingue l'image manifeste de l'homme et l'image scientifique de l'homme. La première est obtenue à partir de la façon dont nous prenons conscience de nous-mêmes comme humains dans le monde. La seconde correspond à ce que les différentes sciences nous amènent à postuler sur la manière dont l'homme est constitué. Van Fraassen, lui, étend au monde ces concepts initialement élaborés pour décrire l'être humain 2. Dans cet article, nous discutons la façon dont on ...