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Clarifying the relation between mechanistic explanations and reductionism.
1Department of Philosophy, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, United States.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 14, 2023
Summary
Neuroscience mechanistic explanations support antireductionism by highlighting part-whole relations where wholes are more than their parts. These explanations can be understood as arguments, reinforcing the antireductionist perspective.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- Recent discussions in neuroscience focus on mechanistic explanations.
- There is ongoing debate regarding whether neurological mechanisms are inherently reductionist.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between mechanistic explanations and antireductionism in neuroscience.
- To demonstrate how mechanisms support antireductionism through part-whole relations.
- To analyze different conceptualizations of mechanistic explanations.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of mechanistic explanations in neuroscience.
- Examination of part-whole relations within neurological mechanisms.
- Argumentative analysis of how mechanistic explanations are understood.
Main Results:
- Mechanisms inherently involve part-whole relations, where the emergent properties of the whole exceed the sum of its parts, supporting antireductionism.
- Mechanistic explanations can be effectively understood as argumentative structures, rather than solely referring to existing entities.
- The argumentative view of mechanistic explanations does not negate the antireductionist stance.
Conclusions:
- Mechanistic explanations in neuroscience provide a framework for understanding complex systems that are more than the sum of their components.
- Viewing mechanistic explanations as arguments offers a valuable analytical tool without compromising the antireductionist position.
- The nature of neurological mechanisms and their explanations is fundamentally antireductionist.
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