What do molecular biologists mean when they say 'structure determines function'?

Abstract

'Structure' and 'function' are both ambiguous terms. Discriminating different meanings of these terms sheds light on research and explanatory practice in molecular biology, as well as clarifying central theoretical concepts in the life sciences like the sequence-structure-function relationship and its corresponding scientific "dogmas". The overall project is to answer three questions, primarily with respect to proteins: What is structure? What is function? What is the relation between structure and function? The results of addressing these questions lead to an answer to the title question, what the statement 'structure determines function' means.

Categories

Add categories

Keywords

Reprint years

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,438

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

  • Only published works are available at libraries.

My notes

Similar books and articles

Uniform bounds on growth in o-minimal structures.Janak Ramakrishnan - 2010 - Mathematical Logic Quarterly 56 (4):406-408.
On the Revision of Probabilistic Belief States.Craig Boutilier - 1995 - Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 36 (1):158-183.
FueL: Representing function structure and function dependencies with a UML profile for function modeling.Patryk Burek, Frank Loebe & Heinrich Herre - 2016 - Applied ontology 11 (2):155-203.
Structure and physiology of photoreceptor cGMP-gated cation channels.Lawrence W. Haynes - 1995 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 18 (3):476-477.
Freewheeling Centrioles.Jan Sapp - 1998 - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 20 (3):255 - 290.
Bodily Parts in the Structure-Function Dialectic.Ingo Brigandt - 2017 - In Scott Lidgard & Lynn K. Nyhart (eds.), Biological Individuality: Integrating Scientific, Philosophical, and Historical Perspectives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 249-274.
Structure, function, and protein taxonomy.William Goodwin - 2011 - Biology and Philosophy 26 (4):533-545.
The chemist’s concept of molecular structure.N. Sukumar - 2008 - Foundations of Chemistry 11 (1):7-20.
A Banzhaf share function for cooperative games in coalition structure.Gerard van Der Laan & René van Den Brink - 2002 - Theory and Decision 53 (1):61-86.
Molecular Biology of the Neuron.R. Wayne Davies (ed.) - 2004 - Oxford University Press UK.
Function without purpose.Ron Amundson & George V. Lauder - 1994 - Biology and Philosophy 9 (4):443-469.
Structure and Coherence of Two-Model-Descriptions of Technical Artefacts.Ulrich Krohs - 2009 - Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 13 (2):150-161.
Molecular Biology of the Neuron.R. W. Davies & Brian J. Morris (eds.) - 2004 - Oxford University Press UK.
A Dyad of Structure and Action Reflections on Some Uses of 'Function' and on Their Relation to Ricoeur's "Narrative Function".Walter G. Heverly - 1984
Explanatory standards in biology and physics textbooks: The case of polymers.Mads Goddiksen - unknown

Analytics

Added to PP
2018-10-28

Downloads
23 (#670,971)

6 months
7 (#417,309)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Functional analysis.Robert E. Cummins - 1975 - Journal of Philosophy 72 (November):741-64.
Functions.Larry Wright - 1973 - Philosophical Review 82 (2):139-168.
Supervenience.Karen Bennett & Brian McLaughlin - 2005 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Four notions of biological function.Arno G. Wouters - 2003 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 34 (4):633-668.
Four notions of biological function.Arno G. Wouters - 2002 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 34 (4):633-668.

View all 11 references / Add more references