Explanatory Patterns and Theoretical Structures in Genetics. The Perspective of Philosophy of Science

At the moment genetics is a scientific discipline which greatly interests society. This is due to the fact that new scientific knowledge is still rapidly growing, and it is necessary to discuss the ethical aspects of its application. Additionally, there is a high intensity of discussion, since, after all, the existence and development of all species must be be taken into consideration. With the ability to manipulate genes, human beings have reached a new stage in evolution. The aim of this Ph.D. thesis is not to answer ethical questions but to investigate the discipline of genetics from the viewpoint of a philosopher of science. Through this connection, statements can be made about today's capabilities of procuring knowledge and manipulating it. In addition, the future development of these capabilities can be predicted. This procedure helps eliminate unrealistic expectations often connected with gene -technology in order to reveal the real problems and find their solutions.
The thesis consists of three parts. The first part provides the methods of philosophy of science as they are applied in the second part; terms like description, explanation, theoretical structure and research programme are discussed here. After that, the discipline of genetics is analysed in detail. Phenomena which are in need of explanation are pointed out. Then, on the basis of the experimental situation,  the explanatory patterns and the theoretical structures are investigated. In this respect, it is of great interest discover where chance and necessity determine genetic events. In the last part, conclusions relevant to society will be drawn. Additionally, the questions concerning the extent to which human beings are determined by their genomes, the usage of genetic tests and the German law protecting embryos are discussed.

This interdisciplinary Ph.D.thesis was supervised by Professor Dr. Georg H. Fey (Department of Genetics), Professor Dr. Christian Thiel (Department of Philosophy) and Akad. Dir. Dr. Rudolf Kötter (Interdisciplinary Department for Philosophy and History of Science) at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.