HOLISM AND REDUCTIONISM IN BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY by Rick C. Looijen ( 9780792360766 )

Item Details

Title:

HOLISM AND REDUCTIONISM IN BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
THE MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF HIGHER AND LOWER LEVEL RESEARCH PROGRAMMES

By:

Format:

Hardback

List price:	£149.99
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ISBN 10:

0792360761

ISBN 13:

9780792360766

Publisher:

KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS

Pub. date:

1 January, 1999

Series:

Episteme v. 23

Pages:

352

Description:

Holism and reductionism are traditionally seen as incompatible views or approaches to nature. Here the author argues that they should rather be seen as mutually dependent, and hence co-operating, research programmes.

Synopsis:

Holism and reductionism are traditionally seen as incompatible views or approaches to nature. Here Looijen argues that they should rather be seen as mutually dependent and hence co-operating research programmes. He sheds some interesting new light on the emergence thesis, its relation to the reduction thesis, and on the role and status of functional explanations in biology. He discusses several examples of reduction in both biology and ecology, showing the mutual dependence of holistic and reductionist research programmes. Ecologists are offered separate chapters, clarifying some major, yet highly and controversial ecological concepts, such as 'community', 'habitat', and 'niche'. The book is the first in-depth study of the philosophy of ecology. Readership: Specialists in the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology, biologists and ecologists interested in the philosophy of their discipline. Also of interest to other scientists concerned with the holism-reductionism issue.

Illustrations:

biography

Publication:

Imprint:

Kluwer Academic Publishers

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

HOLISM AND REDUCTIONISM IN BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY (PB)