Green, Sara
(2017)
Scale-dependency and Downward Causation in Biology.
[Preprint]
Abstract
This paper argues that scale-dependence of physical and biological processes offers resistance to reductionism and has implications that support a specific kind of downward causation. I demonstrate how insights from multiscale modeling can provide a concrete mathematical interpretation of downward causation as boundary conditions for models used to represent processes at lower scales. The autonomy and role of macroscale parameters and higher-level constraints are illustrated through examples of multiscale modeling in physics, developmental
biology, and systems biology. Drawing on these examples, I defend the explanatory
importance of constraining relations for understanding the behavior of biological systems.
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