モデルは現実世界の現象に対する我々の科学的理解に大きく貢献している。我々は現実世界を理想化し、現実世界のある要素を無視したり、改変したりすることでモデルを構築する。この意味で、理想化されたモデルは世界の誤った表象である。すると直ちに次のような問いが生じる。理想化されたモデルはいかにして現象の科学的理解を提供することができるのか？本論はこの問いに答えるために、StrevensやPotochnikらの議論を批判的に検討しつつ、彼らの議論の困難を克服するためにモデルのintelligibilityという概念を導入する。その上で、従来の理想化の捉え方に代わる、適切な理想化の捉え方を提示し、モデルを通じた現象の科学的理解がいかにして成立するのかを考察していく。

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In this article, I discuss the transition of my thought in the methodology of biology and the reasons for a change of research field to philosophy of biology. First, I argue that biology education in high school or university can trigger the development of a reductionist viewpoint about organisms. I will discuss how the reductionist viewpoint that organisms can be understood by reducing them to molecules and other components, which was formed by my own experience in biology education, changed during my research experience and led to the thought that an anti-reductionist viewpoint is necessary. Through my own research experience in the fields of fisheries science and cell biology, I have changed to the position that not only a reductionist viewpoint but also an anti-reductionist viewpoint is necessary. Although reductionism in biology has been discussed for a long time, the reductionist viewpoint still seems to be dominant in the fields I have experienced. Reductionism and anti-reductionism seem to be in conflict, and how to capture them needs to be studied separately from biology. This requires a viewpoint from the philosophy of biology that captures biology meta-philosophically, which is the reason why I have changed my research field.

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