Research Output
Philosophy of Biophysics (Margarida Hermida with Patricia Palacios), Cambridge Element, book under contract with Cambridge University Press.
Abstract: Biophysics is a frontier science at the intersection of physics and biology that is characterized by the application of physical theories, models, and techniques to living systems. Throughout the Element, we will argue that physical research cannot only help elucidate mechanistic aspects of molecular and cellular biology but has important consequences for our understanding of life and the individual and collective behavior of living organisms.
In this chapter, Palacios distinguishes among several forms of idealization employed
in the physical sciences. Drawing on current discussions in the
philosophy of science, she maintains that these various idealizations play distinct
epistemic roles in physics and are, therefore, justified differently. She
then examines how the use of idealizations is connected to other major
debates in the philosophy of science, such as reductionism and scientific
Realism. Since models used in the study of criticality are highly idealized, this chapter helps clarifying their role in scientific research.