Model Organisms

by Rachel Ankeny, Sabina Leonelli

This Element presents a philosophical exploration of the concept of the 'model organism' in contemporary biology. Thinking about model organisms enables us to examine how living organisms have been brought into the laboratory and used to gain a better understanding of biology, and to explore the research practices, commitments, and norms underlying this understanding. We contend that model organisms are key components of a distinctive way of doing research. We focus on what makes model organisms an important type of model, and how the use of these models has shaped biological knowledge, including how model organisms represent, how they are used as tools for intervention, and how the representational commitments linked to their use as models affect the research practices associated with them. This title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

88 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2021

Reviews

[Heather Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at model organisms through a lens deeply grounded in philosophy of science and modelling. It examines questions such as: how do they function as scientific models? What and how do they represent? What makes a good model organism? What are the limits of model organism? As well as the properties of the organisms themselves, there is also discussion of the communities of practice around different model organisms and how they shape the modelling activities.