From Causations to Translations: What Biochemists can Contribute to the Study of Behavior

This paper discusses the relationship between observations of phenomena at the behavioral level, and at the biochemical and physiological levels. It argues that a complete description of an organism and its behavior demands the integration of these levels, and it raises the question of the nature of such an integration. It begins by discussing the nature of “levels” of biological experimentation and explanation. It shows that purely “systems” explanations of behavioral observations cannot be complete, nor can they distinguish between alternative models. They also run the danger of reification, and the general tendency to reify explanations of behavior, especially among sociobiologists, is analyzed.