Abstract
Philosophers and historians of biology have argued that genes are conceptualized differently in different fields of biology and that these differences influence both the conduct of research and the interpretation of research by audiences outside the field in which the research was conducted. In this paper we report the results of a questionnaire study of how genes are conceptualized by biological scientists at the University of Sydney, Australia. The results provide tentative support for some hypotheses about conceptual differences between different fields of biological research.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 647-673 |
Number of pages | 27 |
Journal | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Conceptual change
- Epistemic object
- Gene concept
- Gene-D
- Gene-for
- Gene-P