Causality, Teleology, and Thought Experiments in Biology

摘要: Thought experiments (henceforth TEs) de facto play many different roles in biology: economical, ethical, technical and so forth. This paper, however, is interested whether there are any distinctive features of biological TEs as such. The question may be settled the affirmative because biology have a function that intimately connected with epistemological methodological status biology. Peculiar to fact reflexive, typically human concept finality profitably employed discover mechanical-experimental causal relations all living beings—with obvious caveat we do not hypostatise interpret this an ontological quality, since would land one implicitly animistic, pre-Galilean view nature. From methodical point view, essential assumption well powerful heuristic tool practice biology, is, investigation beings intersubjectively testable reproducible way.