Lessons from the Living Cell: The Limits of Reductionism - Hardcover

Stephen Rothman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0071378200 ISBN 13: 9780071378208

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2001

Synopsis

An elegant call to a new biology that goes beyond reductionism The Human Genome Project is the culmination of a two-centuries-old scientific tradition that takes as its central tenet the principle of reductionism, or the belief that a system can be thoroughly understood when it is reduced to its most fundamental constituent parts. Experimental biologist Stephen Rothman explains that reductionism also has serious, even dangerous, limitations.With the help of fascinating case studies, he takes a clear-eyed look at the social climate in which science is practiced and explores the collective psychology that he fears is leading scientists down a blind alley. Rothman explains why, despite all the hype surrounding the Genome Project, science is still no closer to building a bridge between molecules and reactions at the genetic level and large-scale biological processes. And, ultimately, he makes an eloquent and impassioned argument for a Darwinian-inspired approach to biological research that goes beyond reductionism to embrace living systems in their entirety.

About this title

Review:

How much can we learn about life by looking at its constituent parts? Biologist Stephen Rothman asks the big questions in pursuit of a relatively small answer in Lessons from the Living Cell, equal parts research discussion and philosophical argument. While working on cellular protein transport in the 1960s, Rothman found evidence contradicting the widely held vesicle theory; in the course of his work, he came to the conclusion that the theory's base was skimpy at best. His stories of frustrating battles with the scientific status quo, though clearly biased, still offer a refreshing look at the mechanisms of scientific debate. Rothman presses on to attack what he calls "microreductionism," the belief that any system can be understood by a thorough analysis of its components. This, he says, isn't true for self-organizing systems like living beings, and his arguments are strong and forcefully written. The scientifically literate reader will find Lessons from the Living Cell a challenging polemic against the proximate and ultimate causes of theoretical inertia in biology and beyond. --Rob Lightner

From the Back Cover:

A philosophical call for a new biology from one of its veterans.

Reductionism has been an extraordinarily fruitful scientific tradition that has been with us since the Greeks when Democritus first proposed that all matter is made of unseen atoms. It takes as its central tenet the belief that a system can be understood when it is reduced to its most fundamental elements--its constituent parts. In an extreme form, however, this way of looking at nature loses a sense of the whole while arduously squinting at its smallest pieces.

As we enter the Genomic Age, many molecular biologists are optimistic that one day we will be able to know "a protozoan or a peacock" through its DNA alone. In this book, experimental biologist Stephen Rothman asserts that such a way of understanding will never be possible and hope that it will is misplaced. He maintains that to oversubscribe to reductionism is to misuse this venerable tradition, to heighten the danger of stifling new ideas and to impede progress.

In an elegant and unprecedented examination, Rothman challenges the double-edged sword of reductionism that threatens the scientific method itself. While reductionism remains essential to the scientific process, in its most extreme form, which he dubs strong microreductionism, it can never hope to answer the question "What makes a system a living?" With the help of fascinating case studies, Rothman takes a clear-eyed look at the social climate in which science is practiced and explores the collective psychology that he fears is leading scientists down a blind alley, toward a misshapen microscopic view of life and away from its method. Ultimately, he makes an eloquent argument for a Darwinian-inspired approach to biological research that goes beyond reductionism to the whole organism. Rothman sounds an impassioned, philosophical call for a new biology­­one that embraces living systems in their transcendent entirety.

"In spite of science's noble goals, its remarkable tools, and its access to powerful means of reasoning, humans practice science much like they practice carpentry or politics­­as the flawed creatures they are. It is from this perspective that Lessons from the Living Cell takes a critical look at one of the central beliefs of modern science, especially of modern biology, reductionism. As meant here reductionism is a method of inquiry whereby a system is broken down into its constituent parts and studied at as fundamental a level as possible. As we shall see, reductionism has been science's driving force since its emergence, and has been of inestimable, even transcendent, value. It has been far more than a powerful tool. But as with many a good thing, it has been a double-edged sword, with a back edge that is dangerously ragged."
­­Stephen Rothman

In the new Genomic Age, the centuries-old scientific tradition of reductionism has arrived at its "end game." Genomists hope to know "a protozoan or a peacock" by prying solely into its DNA sequence. Impossible, says experimental biologist Stephen Rothman. In this elegant and unprecedented examination of standard scientific practice, Rothman sounds an impassioned and philosophical call for a new biology­­one that follows in Darwin's footsteps to go beyond the ragged sword of reductionism, toward a method of research that embraces living systems in their entirety.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0071378200
• ISBN 13: 9780071378208
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272