Biological complexity and integrative pluralism / Sandra D. Mitchell
- Bib ID:
- 3065094
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Mitchell, Sandra D., 1951-
- Online Version:
-
- Sample text
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- Table of contents
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- Publisher description
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- Description:
-
- New York ; Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003
- xv, 244 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
- ISBN:
-
- 0521817536
- 0521520797
- Series:
- Cambridge studies in philosophy and biology.
- Summary:
-
"This collection of essays by a leading philosopher of science presents a defense of integrative pluralism as the best description for the complexity of scientific inquiry today. The tendency of some scientists to unify science by reducing all theories to a few fundamental laws of the most basic particles that populate our universe is ill-suited to the biological sciences, which study multicomponent, multilevel, evolved complex systems. This integrative pluralism is the best way to understand the different and complex processes - historical and interactive - that generate biological phenomena." "This book will be of interest to students and professionals in the philosophy of science."--BOOK JACKET.
- Full contents:
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- 1. Introduction
- 2. Constitutive Complexity
- 2.1. Compositional Complexity and the Superorganism Metaphor
- 3. Dynamic Complexity
- 3.1. The Evolution of Division of Labor
- 4. Evolved Diversity
- 4.1. Competing Units of Selection? A Case of Symbiosis
- 4.2. The Units of Behavior in Evolutionary Explanations
- 4.3. On Biological Functions
- 5. Laws
- 5.1. Pragmatic Laws
- 5.2. Dimensions of Scientific Law
- 5.3. Contingent Generalizations: Lessons from Biology
- 5.4. Ceteris Paribus: An Inadequate Representation for Biological Contingency
- 6. Pluralism or Disunity
- 6.1. Critics of Unity of Science
- 6.2. On Pluralism and Competition in Evolutionary Explanations
- 6.3. Integrative Pluralism.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-237) and index.
- Subject:
- Biological systems
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2003
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