Biological Theory
June 2013, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp 298–310
Formalization and the Meaning of “Theory” in the Inexact Biological Sciences
James Griesemer1
Email author
1.Department of PhilosophyUniversity of California, DavisDavisUSA
Thematic Issue Article: The Meaning of "Theory" in Biology
First Online: 18 September 2012
Citations
Source/Fonte: Adaptive Landscapes
Abstract
Exact sciences are described as sciences whose theories are formalized. These are contrasted to inexact sciences, whose theories are not formalized. Formalization is described as a broader category than mathematization, involving any form/content distinction allowing forms, e.g., as represented in theoretical models, to be studied independently of the empirical content of a subject-matter domain. Exactness is a practice depending on the use of theories to control subject-matter domains and to align theoretical with empirical models and not merely a state of a science. Inexact biological sciences tolerate a degree of “mismatch” between theoretical and empirical models and concepts. Three illustrations from biological sciences are discussed in which formalization is achieved by various means: Mendelism, Weismannism, and Darwinism. Frege’s idea of a “conceptual notation” is used to further characterize the notion of a form/content distinction.
Keywords
Darwin Exact and inexact science Formalization Mendel, model Theory Weismann
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