300182 SE Ausgewählte Probleme in der Philosophie der Biologie (2014S)

Big data biology (bioinformatics, computational biology, and systems biology, including 'omics') and synthetic biology (the attempt to 'rationally' design and construct biological functions and systems not present in nature) raise a number of interesting issues for the philosophy of biology. This seminar deals with several such, for instance: Is data-intensive biology a new kind of science, presumably 'post-reductionist'? To what extent is big data biology data-driven? Can (big) data 'speak for themselves', making biological theory superfluous? Are 'big data' turning biological science into engineering, and if so, is this good or bad? Will synthetic biology be able to transgress the limits of evolution imposed by natural selection?