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UID:1-16775@libarts.colostate.edu
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220225T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220225T173000
DTSTAMP:20220222T182012Z
URL:https://www.libarts.colostate.edu/events/philosophy-of-science-researc
 h-lecture-protein-science/
SUMMARY:Philosophy of Science Research Lecture: From Structure to Dynamics:
  Making Sense of Conceptual Change in Protein Science
DESCRIPTION:From Structure to Dynamics: Making Sense of Conceptual Change i
 n Protein Science\nGuest speaker: Jacob Neal\, Postdoctoral Associate at t
 he Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western University\n\nProteins do mos
 t of the cellular work in biology: enzymes convert our food into energy\, 
 hemoglobin delivers oxygen to our cells\, and antibodies help us respond t
 o infections. Understanding protein function is therefore a major goal of 
 the molecular life sciences. Since the mid-twentieth century\, scientists 
 have conceptualized proteins in two very different ways. The structural co
 ncept of the protein emerged during the heyday of molecular biology. Accor
 ding to this concept\, each protein has a fixed 3D structure\, and structu
 re alone is sufficient to determine the protein’s function. The dynamic 
 concept of the protein arose out of a theoretical critique of the structur
 al concept. According to this concept\, a protein is a dynamic molecule\, 
 undergoing constant structural fluctuations. Scientists adopting this conc
 ept maintained that dynamical properties of these fluctuations played an a
 dditional key role in determining protein function. In this talk\, I analy
 ze the complex epistemic relationships that obtain between these two confl
 icting scientific accounts. I offer a novel perspective on such conflicts 
 by distinguishing the conceptual change involved from the associated chang
 e in scientific representations. I argue that rational conceptual replacem
 ent\, rather than a Kuhnian revolution\, is the correct way to characteriz
 e this development. But conceptual replacement does not entail the replace
 ment of older representations. This distinction enables my account to expl
 ain both the drastic conceptual change in protein science as well as the r
 etention of structural representations of proteins. This case also enables
  me to draw some more general conclusions about rational conceptual change
  in science.\n\nFriday\, February 25\, 2022\n4 – 5:30 p.m. MST\nLSC 372-
 374\n\nQuestions? Contact jeff.kasser@colostate.edu
CATEGORIES:College of Liberal Arts Featured Events
LOCATION:Lory Student Center 372-74\, 1101 Center Ave Mall\, Fort Collins\,
  CO\, 80523\, United States
GEO:40.5684653;-105.0834185
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=1101 Center Ave Mall\, Fort
  Collins\, CO\, 80523\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Lory Stud
 ent Center 372-74:geo:40.5684653,-105.0834185
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