Contextualizing Systems Biology

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This collective monograph enhances understanding of the epistemic presumptions, sociocultural implications, and historical backgrounds of the emerging approach of systems biology. It provides empirically grounded, valuable insights into a paradigmatic shift in the biosciences, targeting scientists in interdisciplinary fields such as systems biology, synthetic biology, molecular biology, philosophy of science, sociology of science, and technology studies. The authors share the premise that science is a culturally and socially embedded practice, shaping our scientific culture and drawing innovation from its socio-cultural context. This dialectic relationship is central to the development of systems biology, seen as a successor to ‘-omics’ research, driven by high-throughput information technologies and the need for holistic conceptualizations of complex biological processes. The title suggests an analysis of systems biology's development from various theoretical and methodological perspectives. The book examines cognitive contexts (basic theoretical concepts), regulative contexts (policies), and the practical application of systems biology within a European research project. By analyzing these interconnected layers, the book transcends current investigations into new biological approaches, framing and assessing systems biology from an interdisciplinary and integrated viewpoint.