A Neurathian Conception of the Unity of Science
Erkenntnis 74 (3):305-319 (2011)
Abstract
An historically important conception of the unity of science is explanatory reductionism, according to which the unity of science is achieved by explaining all laws of science in terms of their connection to microphysical law. There is, however, a separate tradition that advocates the unity of science. According to that tradition, the unity of science consists of the coordination of diverse fields of science, none of which is taken to have privileged epistemic status. This alternate conception has roots in Otto Neurath’s notion of unified science. In this paper, I develop a version of the coordination approach to unity that is inspired by Neurath’s views. The resulting conception of the unity of science achieves aims similar to those of explanatory reductionism, but does so in a radically different way. As a result, it is immune to the criticisms facing explanatory reductionism. This conception of unity is also importantly different from the view that science is disunified, and I conclude by demonstrating how it accords better with scientific practice than do conceptions of the disunity of scienceAuthor's Profile
DOI
10.1007/s10670-010-9228-0
My notes
Similar books and articles
The unity of science.Martin Carrier & Jürgen Mittelstrass - 1990 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 4 (1):17-31.
Unity without myths.Daniel Andler - 2011 - In John Symons, Juan Manuel Torres & Olga Plomb (eds.), New approaches to the Unity of Science, vol. 1: Otto Neurath and the Unity of Science. Springer.
Explanatory disunities and the unity of science.David Davies - 1996 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 10 (1):5 – 21.
New approaches to the Unity of Science, vol. 1: Otto Neurath and the Unity of Science.John Symons, Juan Manuel Torres & Olga Plomb (eds.) - 2011 - Springer.
Reduction, integration, and the unity of science: Natural, behavioral, and social sciences and the humanities.William P. Bechtel & Andrew Hamilton - 2007 - In T. Kuipers (ed.), Philosophy of Science: Focal Issues (Volume 1 of the Handbook of the Philosophy of Science). Elsevier.
Scientific Practice and the Disunity of Physics.Andreas Hüttemann - 1998 - Philosophia Naturalis 35 (1):209-222.
Cosmology, particles, and the unity of science.Henrik Zinkernagel - 2001 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (3):493-516.
Keeping Track of Neurath's Bill: Abstract Concepts, Stock Models, and the Unity of Classical Physics.Sheldon Steed, Gabriele Contessa & Nancy Cartwright - 2011 - In Olga Pombo, John Symons & Juan Manuel Torres (eds.), Otto Neurath and the Unity of Science. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
The appearance of unity: A higher-order interpretation of the unity of consciousness.Josh Weisberg - 2001 - Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Conference of The Cognitive Science Society.
Concepts, Theories, And The Mind-Body Problem.Herbert Feigl (ed.) - 1958 - University of Minnesota Press.
Unified Theories and Disparate Things.Margaret Morrison - 1994 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1994:365 - 373.
Analytics
Added to PP
2010-11-18
Downloads
835 (#9,634)
6 months
40 (#33,323)
2010-11-18
Downloads
835 (#9,634)
6 months
40 (#33,323)
Historical graph of downloads
Author's Profile
Citations of this work
The Limitations of Hierarchical Organization.Angela Potochnik & Brian McGill - 2012 - Philosophy of Science 79 (1):120-140.
Rethinking Woodger’s Legacy in the Philosophy of Biology.Daniel J. Nicholson & Richard Gawne - 2014 - Journal of the History of Biology 47 (2):243-292.
Unificatory Explanation.Marco J. Nathan - 2017 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 68 (1).
Explanations in cognitive science: unification versus pluralism.Marcin Miłkowski & Mateusz Hohol - 2020 - Synthese 199 (Suppl 1):1-17.
Refining the Bayesian Approach to Unifying Generalisation.Nina Poth - 2022 - Review of Philosophy and Psychology:1-31.
References found in this work
The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science.John Dupré - 1993 - Harvard University Press.
The Dappled World: A Study of the Boundaries of Science.Nancy Cartwright - 1999 - Cambridge University Press.