Is “Genetic Information” a Metaphor?

Abstract

    Most life scientists and philosophers would agree that molecular biology has produced reductionistic explanations which consist of physico-chemical terms. According to Sarkar, this means that informational terms are merely metaphors which have misled scientists and eventually ought to be discarded. However, the actual situation is the opposite; informational concepts are intensively used in the life sciences. In this paper, I will argue that informational concepts become indispensable elements which work as epistemic resources, enabling a schematic understanding of life phenomena; thus, informational terms are necessary in order for the theory of molecular biology to provide such resources.