title: Downward causes and appropriate abstractions: Alternative argument for Noble's position.
abstract: In his article of this issue, Denis Noble argues that causation can occur at and between any scales - rather than levels - in nature. I agree with this conclusion, but do not find his reasoning fully persuasive. I offer an independent but related argument for his position, which focuses on the role of the process of abstraction in identifying and understanding a phenomenon. My aim is to give the reader another way to think about causal talk within the framework of Systems Biology.
authors.affiliation: Balliol College, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BJ, United Kingdom. acflewis@gmail.com
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D010684:Philosophy; D049490:Systems Biology