Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Reductionism and antireductionism

T Nagel1

  • 1New York University Law School, NY 10012, USA.

Novartis Foundation Symposium
|July 8, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Reductionism posits that physics explains everything. Antireductionism argues that complex systems, like biology, may require separate principles beyond fundamental physics due to our cognitive limits or inherent complexity.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Life, lifestyle and location: examining the complexities of psychological distress in young adult Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Journal of developmental origins of health and disease·2017
Same author

Observation of a New Narrow Axial-Vector Meson a1(1420).

Physical review letters·2015
Same author

Measurement of the charged-pion polarizability.

Physical review letters·2015
Same author

The changing role of the superficial region in determining the dynamic compressive properties of articular cartilage during postnatal development.

Osteoarthritis and cartilage·2015
Same author

Postnatal changes to the mechanical properties of articular cartilage are driven by the evolution of its collagen network.

European cells & materials·2015
Same author

First measurement of chiral dynamics in π- γ → π- π- π+.

Physical review letters·2012
Same journal

Genetic and therapeutic control of diabetogenic CD8+ T cells.

Novartis Foundation symposium·2009
Same journal

Translating mucosal antigen based prevention of autoimmune diabetes to human.

Novartis Foundation symposium·2009
Same journal

Re-establishing immune tolerance in type 1 diabetes via regulatory T cells.

Novartis Foundation symposium·2009
Same journal

Immune markers of disease and therapeutic intervention in type 1 diabetes.

Novartis Foundation symposium·2009
Same journal

Towards a curative therapy in type 1 diabetes: remission of autoimmunity, maintenance and augmentation of beta cell mass.

Novartis Foundation symposium·2009
Same journal

CD8 and cytotoxic T cells in type 1 diabetes.

Novartis Foundation symposium·2009
See all related articles

Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Science
  • Theoretical Biology
  • Physics

Background:

  • Reductionism suggests all phenomena, including biology, are explainable by fundamental physics.
  • Antireductionism proposes limitations to this view, arising from cognitive constraints or inherent complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the concept of reductionism in science.
  • To differentiate between epistemological and ontological antireductionism.
  • To examine the applicability of reductionism to complex biological systems.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of reductionism and antireductionism.
  • Distinguishing between epistemological and ontological antireductionist arguments.
  • Applying these concepts to the specific case of biology and self-replication.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Epistemological antireductionism argues that even with complete physical knowledge, our finite minds necessitate special sciences (e.g., biology).
  • Ontological antireductionism controversially suggests some phenomena inherently require principles beyond fundamental physics.
  • The study questions whether biology's complex, organized, and self-replicating systems can be fully explained by physics alone.

Conclusions:

  • The debate between reductionism and antireductionism remains pertinent, especially for complex systems like those in biology.
  • Understanding the limits of reductionism is crucial for appreciating the role of special sciences.
  • Further inquiry is needed to determine if biology requires principles independent of fundamental physics.