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27 Jul
Dissertation Defense-Jacob P. Neal
Event Type

Defenses

Target Audience

Faculty, Graduate Students

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Dissertation Defense-Jacob P. Neal

This is a past event.

“Protein Structure, Dynamics, and Function:

A Philosophical Account of Representation and Explanation in Structural Biology”

Most philosophical work in molecular biology has historically centered on DNA, genetics, and questions of reduction. My dissertation breaks from this tradition to make proteins the object of philosophical and historical analysis. The recent history of structural biology and protein science offers untapped potential for history and philosophy of science. My ultimate goal for this dissertation therefore is to identify and analyze some of the key historical and philosophical puzzles that arise in these fields. I focus primarily on the shift from the static to the dynamic view of proteins in the late twentieth century. The static view treated proteins as stable, rigid structures, whereas the dynamic view considers proteins to be dynamic molecules in constant motion. In the first half of the dissertation, I develop a historical account of the origins of the static view of proteins. I show how this view led molecular biologists to adopt mechanistic explanation as their preferred strategy for explaining protein function. I then develop an account of the emergence of the dynamic view of proteins, arguing that thermodynamic theory and the theoretical commitments of scientists played an important and often overlooked role in driving this change. In the second half of the dissertation, I analyze the epistemological relationship between the static and dynamic concepts of the protein and argue that conceptual replacement is occurring. I then develop an account of ensemble explanation, a new type of explanation introduced to highlight the role of dynamics in protein function. I show that these explanations fail to fit existing philosophical accounts of explanation, ultimately concluding that my account is required to capture their epistemic structure.

 

Keywords: History of Structural Biology, Protein Dynamics, Structure and Function, Conceptual Change, Theory Change, Ensemble Explanation, Equilibrium Explanation, Mechanistic Explanation, Scientific Representation

Dial-In Information

Please contact the Graduate Administrator: frs38@pitt.edu for the Zoom link. 

Tuesday, July 27 at 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Virtual Event

Dissertation Defense-Jacob P. Neal

“Protein Structure, Dynamics, and Function:

A Philosophical Account of Representation and Explanation in Structural Biology”

Most philosophical work in molecular biology has historically centered on DNA, genetics, and questions of reduction. My dissertation breaks from this tradition to make proteins the object of philosophical and historical analysis. The recent history of structural biology and protein science offers untapped potential for history and philosophy of science. My ultimate goal for this dissertation therefore is to identify and analyze some of the key historical and philosophical puzzles that arise in these fields. I focus primarily on the shift from the static to the dynamic view of proteins in the late twentieth century. The static view treated proteins as stable, rigid structures, whereas the dynamic view considers proteins to be dynamic molecules in constant motion. In the first half of the dissertation, I develop a historical account of the origins of the static view of proteins. I show how this view led molecular biologists to adopt mechanistic explanation as their preferred strategy for explaining protein function. I then develop an account of the emergence of the dynamic view of proteins, arguing that thermodynamic theory and the theoretical commitments of scientists played an important and often overlooked role in driving this change. In the second half of the dissertation, I analyze the epistemological relationship between the static and dynamic concepts of the protein and argue that conceptual replacement is occurring. I then develop an account of ensemble explanation, a new type of explanation introduced to highlight the role of dynamics in protein function. I show that these explanations fail to fit existing philosophical accounts of explanation, ultimately concluding that my account is required to capture their epistemic structure.

 

Keywords: History of Structural Biology, Protein Dynamics, Structure and Function, Conceptual Change, Theory Change, Ensemble Explanation, Equilibrium Explanation, Mechanistic Explanation, Scientific Representation

Dial-In Information

Please contact the Graduate Administrator: frs38@pitt.edu for the Zoom link. 

Tuesday, July 27 at 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Virtual Event

Event Type

Defenses

Target Audience

Faculty, Graduate Students

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