Unificatory Explanation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8396776 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marco J Nathan (0000-0002-3675-7465, University of Denver, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 163-186 |
| Publication date | 2017-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axv022 |
| OpenAlex | W4245787180 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 39 |
Philosophers have traditionally addressed the issue of scientific unification in terms of theoretical reduction. Reductive models, however, cannot explain the occurrence of unification in areas of science where successful reductions are hard to find. The goal of this essay is to analyse a concrete example of integration in biology—the developmental synthesis—and to generalize it into a model of scientific unification, according to which two fields are in the process of being unified when they become explanatorily relevant to each other. I conclude by suggesting that this methodological conception of unity, which is independent of the debate on the metaphysical foundations of science, is closely connected to the notion of interdisciplinarity. 1 Introduction 2 Some Troubles with Theory Reduction 3 Interfield and Mechanistic Unification 4 Foundations of the Developmental Synthesis 5 Explanatory Relevance 6 Concluding Remarks
Epistemology · Metaphysics · Process (computing) · Scientific theory · Unification · Computer Science · Gene Regulatory Network Analysis · Origins and Evolution of Life · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science
Trading Evidence
On Leszek Nowak’s Conception of the Unity of Science
Deep Learning Applied to Scientific Discovery
Eksplanacija kao unifikacija i eksplanatorni pluralizam
The meaning of a measure
Effective integration and models of information
Unification beyond justification
Explanations in cognitive science
The Changing Role of the Embryo in Evolutionary Thought
Explaining the Brain
Physics and Chance
Multiple Realizations
Explanation and Scientific Understanding
Developmental Constraints and Evolution
The Dappled World
The Structure and Confirmation of Evolutionary Theory
Dimensions of integration in interdisciplinary explanations of the origin of evolutionary novelty
Cancer and the goals of integration
The roles of integration in molecular systems biology
Integrating data to acquire new knowledge
Special sciences (or
A comparison of the meaning and uses of models in mathematics and the empirical sciences
Unifying science without reduction
Approaches to Reduction
Interfield Theories
Molecular Biology and the Unity of Science
Explanatory Unification
The Varieties of Molecular Explanation
Conceptualizing the (Dis)unity of Science∗
The Multiple Realizability Argument Against Reductionism
Explaining Evolutionary Innovations and Novelties
Concepts, Theories, and the Mind-Body Problem
And all That. A Tale of Two Sciences
Ontogeny and Phylogeny
Reduction Without Reductionism
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.89 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |