Reduction, Explanation, and Realism
Reduction, Explanation, and Realism by David Owain Maurice Charles, published by Clarendon Press in 1992, is a comprehensive exploration of the concept of reduction in philosophy. This 478-page volume delves into whether discussions surrounding the mind, value, color, and biological organisms should aim to reduce these subjects to basic physical science. The book presents a critical examination of traditional reductionist methods and introduces contemporary anti-reductionist perspectives that argue for the legitimacy of higher-level descriptions and explanations.
Readers will find contributions that assess the motivations and coherence of anti-reductionist views across various fields, including moral and mental philosophy, psychology, and organic biology. The discussions highlight the complexities of understanding higher-level phenomena as grounded in, yet not reducible to, basic physical objects and properties. This edition serves as a significant resource for those interested in the intersections of philosophy, epistemology, and the social aspects of science.
Official synopsis Publisher
What is reduction? Must all discussions of the mind, value, color, biological organisms, and persons aim to reduce these to objects and properties that can be studied by more basic, physical science? Conversely, does failure to achieve a reduction undermine the legitimacy of higher levels of description or explanation? Though reduction has long been a favorite method of analysis in all areas of philosophy, in recent years philosophers have attempted to avoid these traditional alternatives by developing an account of higher-level phenomena which shows them to be grounded in, but not reducible to, basic physical objects and properties. The contributors to this volume examine the motivations for such anti-reductionist views, and assess their coherence and success, in a number of different fields, including moral and mental philosophy, psychology, organic biology, and the social sciences.
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