ABSTRACT:Biology is undergoing a crisis whereby technical innovations designed to overcome the difficulties encountered in explaining complex biological phenomena have not delivered the expected results. To overcome this problem, mainstream biomedical researchers favor adopting new technological wonders without considering that what hinders their research could be due to their philosophical stance, theoretical frame, or looking into the wrong level of biological organization. We address the conceptual problems underlying the scientific crisis by examining the philosophical stances that have illuminated biological thought for the last 200 years and their evolution into the conceptual frames now known as reductionism and organicism. We also analyze how these stances seek to establish causality. The reductionist fixation on bottom-up causation is based on physicalism, a stance that does not allow for emergent phenomena. Organicism, by contrast, allows for emergence and asserts that biological entities are defined by the relation between what they are and what they do; thus, they generate novel qualities and structures. Also, only organisms experience illness and health. Organicism recognizes the role of agency and normativity in determining biological phenomena. Based on these premises, we favor adopting organicism to resolve the current crisis in the biomedical sciences.

中文翻译：

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生物医学科学中的还原论、有机论和因果关系：批判

摘要：生物学正在经历一场危机，旨在克服解释复杂生物现象时遇到​​的困难的技术创新并未取得预期的结果。为了克服这个问题，主流生物医学研究人员倾向于采用新的技术奇迹，而没有考虑阻碍他们研究的因素可能是由于他们的哲学立场、理论框架或对生物组织的错误水平的研究。我们通过研究过去 200 年来启发生物学思想的哲学立场及其演变为现在被称为还原论和有机论的概念框架，来解决科学危机背后的概念问题。我们还分析了这些立场如何寻求建立因果关系。对自下而上因果关系的还原论固定是基于物理主义，一种不允许出现现象的立场。相比之下，有机主义允许出现并断言生物实体是由它们是什么和它们做什么之间的关系来定义的；因此，它们产生了新颖的品质和结构。此外，只有生物体才会经历疾病和健康。有机主义承认能动性和规范性在决定生物现象方面的作用。基于这些前提，我们赞成采用有机主义来解决当前的生物医学危机。它们产生新的品质和结构。此外，只有有机体才会经历疾病和健康。有机主义承认能动性和规范性在决定生物现象方面的作用。基于这些前提，我们赞成采用有机主义来解决当前的生物医学危机。它们产生新的品质和结构。此外，只有生物体才会经历疾病和健康。有机主义承认能动性和规范性在决定生物现象方面的作用。基于这些前提，我们赞成采用有机主义来解决当前的生物医学危机。