Mechanism and mechanical explanation in systems biology1 - Systems Biology: Philosophical Foundations - page 142

constituents in context. The key problem concerns understanding the behavior of
the constituents, which are not context independent. It is only in context that we
can specify the constituent behavior, and so only in context that we can derive
the system behavior. So we are left with emergent behavior, indeterminate on
the basis of constituent behavior in simpler systems or, we suspect, on the basis
of constituent behavior in different systems (cf. Boogerd et al., 2005).
5. CONCLUSION: MECHANISTIC EXPLANATION AND
SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
Mechanistic Explanations as proposed here make a strong case for systems biol-
ogy. We have depicted mechanistic explanations as, essentially, more detailed
redescriptions of system behavior. Not all explanations, even within functional
biology, follow this form. Perhaps some mechanistic explanations do not follow
this form. Still, many do, and within systems biology, they are more often a more
appropriate type of explanation than any strictly reductive strategy that tries to
pull down some single causal factor such as a genetic factor, and identify it as
'responsible for' some systemic behavior. Whether or not this is the only route to
explain complex systems, genuine understanding is reached when we are able to
redescribe a process, or a complex system, with a grade of resolution that allows
us to see the relevant components 'at work'. We can then see how the system
functions, and how components contribute to systemic behaviors. As Kitano
says, this is a 'system level understanding'. It is also within this framework
that we can reveal the general 'working capacities' of components; both exper-
imental studies that investigate their capacities in context and behavior under
systematically varied conditions can contribute to these models. That is what
gives us the necessary background knowledge to understand the components'
behavior within complex systems.
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