BIOLOGISTS AS PHILOSOPHERS.

This article discusses what a biologist does, how he does it, and why he does so. For successful communication, a short vocabulary is suggested: information, idea, model, inference, and analogy. The principal idea is the organization and transmission of information. Organization is achieved through models. The complexity of biological models is emphasized, and the idea of levels of organization of matter has been selected as an example of a comprehensive biological model. While the symbols of other disciplines such as mathematics and formal logic may be valuable within the complex biological context, it is asserted that the ultimate value of biological models is consistency, and that biologists themselves must make and judge their models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]