Bogen, Jim and Machamer, Peter (2010) Mechanistic Information and Causal Continuity. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Some biological processes (our examples are DNA expression and a reflex response in the leech) move from step to step in a way that cannot be completely understood solely in terms of causes and correlations. This paper develops a notion of mechanistic information that can be used to explain the continuities of such processes. We compare them to processes (including the Krebs cycle) that do not involve information. We compare our conception of mechanistic information to some familiar notions including Crick’s idea of genetic information, Shannon-Weaver information, and Millikan’s biosemantic information.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Bogen, Jim Machamer, Peter
Keywords:	information, mechanisms, mechanistic information, DNA expression, sensori-motor reflexes, Krebs cycle, causal explanation, causal continuity, teleology, function.
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Neuroscience Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
Depositing User:	jim bogen
Date Deposited:	17 Feb 2010
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:19
Item ID:	5151
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Neuroscience Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
Date:	February 2010
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/5151

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