RECEPTION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING IN 817 CATHEDRAL OF LEARNING

Abstract: The nature and significance of genetic information and coding has been discussed by philosophers of biology for some time. Many authors, though by no means all, maintain that these concepts do not indicate the presence of semantic properties. Yet there is little agreement over the extent to which they play substantial theoretical roles. To shed light on this issue I investigated how molecular geneticists introduced and began to employ informational concepts in a sustained way (in the 1950s). Online archives now facilitate a detailed and systematic assessment based on contemporary sources, where previous studies of actual usage were selective or reliant on later recollections. The emerging picture is complex. However, one clear result is that informational metaphors were not mere rhetorical embellishments. Instead, they were quasi-technical concepts with well-delineated referents, which served to articulate causal hypotheses about protein synthesis as well as how-possibly explanations. A few causal notions dominated the discourse, especially specificity and determination. Providing accounts of these notions is therefore the most promising philosophical contribution to our understanding of the nature and role of informational metaphors in molecular biology.