Posted by
Günther Greindl on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Young-but-distant-gallaxies-tp839193p1076112.html
Doug,
> I have not read "On the Origin of Objects"; I may browse it if I ever
> have some free time.
I think you would find it quite to your liking - the author himself
would say that he is _not_ a reductionist.
I have read all the comments in this thread, and I think we have been
talking a bit past each other.
The main interest here on the list seems to be in explanation and
prediction - epistemology.
My concerns with reductionism are purely ontological - as a philsopher,
I am concerned with the ultimate nature of reality. Science of course
can be done in lots of manners, and in the wake of logical positivism is
often done in an instrumental way (I think that is quite detrimental,
but that is another topic for another day...)
So I think we were actually talking past each other: you were talking
about levels of description (exclusively), and I was talking about
ontology (albeit a new form of ontology, see the Cantwell-Smith book,
which deviates very much from tratitional philosophical considerations
on this topic).
> Don't get me wrong: I do not totally reject reductionism. Well,
> actually, I do, as regards to finding any utility in it for myself. But
> other people seem to swear by it, and I am truly happy for them.
Agreed :-) Science profits from an abundance of ideas. I have never
understood why in science everybody is bashing at each other. More
harmony could be expected, after all, we all have the common goal of
understanding the world.
Cheers,
Günther
--
Günther Greindl
Department of Philosophy of Science
University of Vienna
[hidden email]
Blog:
http://www.complexitystudies.org/Thesis:
http://www.complexitystudies.org/proposal/============================================================
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