ELFT HÍRADÓ

["Laszlo E. Szabo" <leszabo AT hps.elte.hu>]

Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Eotvos University
Budapest, Pazmany P. setany 1/A

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE SEMINAR
(http://hps.elte.hu/seminar)
________________________________________________
23 April 4:00 PM 6th floor 6.54
(Language: English)


H o w a r d   R o b i n s o n
CEU, Budapest, Philosophy Program
University of Liverpool

Various kinds of reductionism

   Reductionism in the philosophy of science is associated with the
logical positivists' attempt to produce a unified science. In their
eyes, as they disliked ontology, this unity was essentially a matter of
the relation of theories one to another. For those who fear ontology
less, it can be conceived in a more realist fashion. The different
sciences, and many things we say in ordinary, non-scientific language,
are all true of the same physical world. What constraints are there on
theories for it to be possible for them to be different ways of
conceptualising the same reality? Reductionism can be seen as the
principle attempt explain these constraints.
   I shall look at the different accounts of reduction that have been
given. First, I shall give a typology of the various accounts that have
been given of the relations between the ontologies of different
theories, stretching from the most reductive to those that are
explicitly emergentist. Second I shall focus on the 'weak reductionism'
defended by
Jerry Fodor in 'Special sciences: the disunity of science as a working
hypothesis', (Synthese, 1974: variously reprinted, including in The
Philosophy of Science, eds Boyd, Gasper and Trout). I shall question
whether this kind of weak reduction is adequate for a naturalist, on the

grounds that it presupposes that the science-producing subject is
external to the world about which he is producing his theories.

The organizer of the seminar:   László E. Szabó

--
Laszlo E. Szabo
Department of Theoretical Physics
Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Eotvos University, Budapest
H-1518 Budapest, Pf. 32, Hungary
Phone/Fax: (36-1)372-2924
Home: (36-1) 200-7318
Mobil/SMS: (36) 20-366-1172
http://hps.elte.hu/~leszabo