Molecular Logic: Brief Introduction and Some Philosophical Considerations

In the present article a brief historical and systematic introduction to the field of molecular logic are proposed. Some relevant philosophical consequences derived from the technical treatment of this topic are also exposed. These consequences are made explicit in three fundamental questions. Some of the proposed methods for the representation of the intracellular molecular dynamics are also presented and the advantages and limitations that the different methods exhibit when modeling natural biological circuits are evaluated. The Boolean approach to molecular logic is considered with special attention in this article, emphasizing that “logic gates” have proven to be functionally appropriate for analyzing experimental information, however, they present limitations to capture complex biological processes. In relation to this last point, the problem presented by the modeling of continuous variables through discrete systems is studied in depth. It is explained then the need to have adequate logic to the phenomenon and its characteristics.