me:
> it's a perfect metaphor for the reductionist perspective.
Doyle:
Well reductionist it would seem to me implies parts from whole, whereas genes means one to function. And function is autonomous. Whereas in parts to whole, the whole is not functioning unless the parts are there.
"reductionist" has more than one meaning. For example, it sometimes means trying to understand the historical dynamics of the Marxian "superstructure" by referring only to the "base." Here instead I'm referring to the effort to explain all of the whole by reference to the parts. For example, Dawkins tries to explain the behavior of organisms -- and even entire species -- by reference to the "selfish gene." Economists try to explain macroeconomics by reference to the behavior of a "representative individual," etc. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
