Reduction Without Reductionism
A Defence of Nagel on Connectability
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4351556 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Colin Klein (0000-0002-7406-4010, University of Illinois Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 234 |
| Pages | 39-53 |
| Publication date | 2009-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9213.2008.560.x |
| OpenAlex | W2039820312 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 14 |
Unlike the overall framework of Ernest Nagel's work on reduction, his theory of intertheoretic connection still has life in it. It handles aptly cases where reduction requires complex representation of a target domain. Abandoning his formulation as too liberal was a mistake. Arguments that it is too liberal at best touch only Nagel's deductivist theory of explanation, not his condition of connectability. Taking this condition seriously gives a powerful view of reduction, but one which requires us to index explanatory power to sciences as they are formulated at particular times. While we may thereby reduce more than philosophers have supposed, we must abandon hope (as Nagel did) of saying anything useful about reductionism
Connection (principal bundle) · Epistemology · Mistake · Political science · Politics · Reduction (mathematics) · Reductionism · Representation (politics) · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Philosophy, Science, and History
Emergence, Reduction and Supervenience
Who’s Afraid of Nagelian Reduction?
Nagel on reduction11For discussions, in some cases over many decades, thanks are due to Jordi Cat, Alan Love, Ken Schaffner, Abner Shimony, John Stachel, and Bill Wimsatt. Comments by participants of the Formal Epistemology and the Legacy of Logical Empiricism Workshop (University of Texas, Austin, Spring 2013) and the audience at a Philosophy Department seminar at the University of Sydney were also useful. For comments on previous drafts, thanks are due to Justin Garson and Thomas Uebel.
Evolution, the Extended Synthesis
Epistemic reduction of the concept of ‘decision’
Confirmation and reduction
Mapping the mind
Arithmetic, set theory, reduction and explanation
Reduction redux
On the Role of Bridge Laws in Intertheoretic Relations
Nagelian Reduction beyond the Nagel Model
Identity, Asymmetry, and the Relevance of Meanings for Models of Reduction
Unificatory Explanation
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.81 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2025 (16) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |