THE BASIC TENETS OF BIOTHEORY

Since the second world war German biology has lost contact with the world-wide development of philosophy of science and non-theoretical biological research in the classical disciplines was almost totally conducted on an inductivistic basis. The gap left by the inabilitiy of morphology and phylogeny to formulate specific theories for living organization was filled by biologically inadequate physical concepts as synergetics and thermodynamics of open systems. Systems theory must also be considered devoid of explanatory meaning and the idea of hierarchical order in living beings provides testimony for the insufficient understanding of organization. It is argued that a two step revision is necessary to get biotheoretical work in progress again. A liberal and tolerant atmosphere has to be established by presupposing the general tenets of critical rationalism, i.e. permission to formulate new theories which diverge from or are at variance with entrenched traditional approaches. Competition of contrasting theories and paradigmatic switches should be a common procedure. In a second step, by transcending the tenets of traditional philosophy of science, a constructivistic methodological approach should provide the guide-lines for the characterization and treatment of organisms as the objects of biology. An outline of a constructivistic conception of protobiology is given.