Thomas Polger and Lawrence Shapiro claim that unlike human-made artifacts cases of multiple realization in naturally occurring systems are uncommon. Drawing on cases from systems biology, I argue that multiple realization in naturally occurring systems is not as uncommon as Polger and Shapiro initially thought. The relevant cases, which I draw from systems biology, involve generalizable design principles called network motifs, which recur in different organisms and species and perform specific functions. I show that network motifs with entirely different underlying causal structures can perform the same function of interest. The article also considers the scope problem of multiple realization.

中文翻译：

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系统生物学中的多重实现

Thomas Polger 和 Lawrence Shapiro 声称，与人工制品不同，在自然发生的系统中多次实现的情况并不常见。借鉴系统生物学的案例，我认为自然发生系统中的多重实现并不像 Polger 和 Shapiro 最初认为的那样罕见。我从系统生物学中提取的相关案例涉及称为网络基序的可概括设计原则，它们在不同的生物体和物种中重复出现并执行特定的功能。我展示了具有完全不同的潜在因果结构的网络主题可以执行相同的兴趣功能。文章还考虑了多重实现的范围问题。