Binding specificity is a centrally important concept in molecular biology, yet it has received little philosophical attention. Here I aim to remedy this by analyzing binding specificity as a causal property. I focus on the concept’s role in drug design, where it is highly prized and hence directly studied. From a causal perspective, understanding why binding specificity is a valuable property of drugs contributes to an understanding of causal selection—of how and why scientists distinguish between causes, not just causes from noncauses. In particular, the specificity of drugs is precisely what underwrites their value as experimental interventions on biological processes.

中文翻译：

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药物设计中的结合特异性和因果选择

结合特异性是分子生物学中一个非常重要的概念，但它几乎没有受到哲学上的关注。在这里，我的目标是通过将结合特异性作为因果属性进行分析来解决这个问题。我专注于这个概念在药物设计中的作用，它受到高度重视，因此被直接研究。从因果关系的角度来看，理解为什么结合特异性是药物的一个有价值的特性有助于理解因果选择——科学家如何以及为什么区分原因，而不仅仅是原因与非原因。特别是，药物的特异性正是它们作为对生物过程的实验干预的价值的保证。