Jodoin, Laurent (2014) Génétique des populations et mécanique statistique : stratégie explicative et analogie formelle. Lato Sensu, revue de la Société de philosophie des sciences, 1 (1). pp. 12-25. ISSN 2295-8029
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Abstract
The relationship between statistical mechanics and population genetics has a long history. Both take advantage of statistics to address the behavior of large groups of entities. The main objective of this article is to assess the obstacles population genetics is meeting in its claim to explain biological phenomena from the conceptual apparatus of statistical mechanics according to two recent articles (Sella & Hirsh 2005; Barton & Coe 2009). Several tools available to the latter (phenomenological thermodynamics, concept of thermal equilibrium, energy conservation) are missing in the former. Thus, in the absence of an adequate justification of the relevance of the analogy and without the satisfaction of certain basic assumptions, I argue that the explanatory strategy of the analogously based model is seriously compromised.
La relation entre mécanique statistique et génétique des populations a une longue histoire. À l’instar de la première, la seconde tire profit des statistiques afin de traiter le comportement des grands ensembles d’entités. L’objectif principal du présent article est d’identifier les obstacles que rencontre la génétique des populations dans sa prétention d’explication des phénomènes biologiques à partir de l’appareillage conceptuel de la mécanique statistique selon deux articles récents (Sella & Hirsh 2005 ; Barton & Coe 2009). Or, plusieurs outils dont dispose cette dernière (thermodynamique phénoménologique, notion d’équilibre thermique, conservation de l’énergie) manque à la première. Ainsi, en l’absence d’une justification adéquate de la pertinence de l’analogie et sans la satisfaction de certaines hypothèses fondamentales, je soutiens que la stratégie explicative du modèle analogue est sérieusement compromise.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Keywords: | population genetics statistical mechanics analogy explanation entropy | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Depositing User: | Lato Sensu | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 13 Sep 2016 13:44 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 13 Sep 2016 13:44 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 12416 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Lato Sensu, revue de la Société de philosophie des sciences | ||||||
| Publisher: | Société de philosophie des sciences | ||||||
| Official URL: | http://sites.uclouvain.be/latosensu/index.php/lato... | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.20416/lsrsps.v1i1.13 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Date: | July 2014 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 12-25 | ||||||
| Volume: | 1 | ||||||
| Number: | 1 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 2295-8029 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/12416 |
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