Causal Pluralism in the Life Sciences A Journey Along the Frontiers of Conceptual Plurality

This book takes a new approach to the debate on causal pluralism in the philosophy of biology by asking how useful pluralism is instead of debating its truth. The core thesis in this work is that many problems do not hinge on the question of whether or not we subscribe to causal pluralism. As one st...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ehrenstein, Kolja
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2022, 2022
Edition:1st ed. 2022
Series:History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: Springer eBooks 2005- - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:This book takes a new approach to the debate on causal pluralism in the philosophy of biology by asking how useful pluralism is instead of debating its truth. The core thesis in this work is that many problems do not hinge on the question of whether or not we subscribe to causal pluralism. As one step in this central argument, the author develops an account that reasonably distinguishes pluralism from monism; in another step he studies cases that allegedly motivate causal pluralism in biology. Examining these cases shows how pluralism is often irrelevant and why pursuing pluralism is sometimes dangerous, since it may generate pseudo solutions to persistent philosophical problems. This book offers a systematic approach to this subject matter and argues that we might have overestimated the significance of the monism-pluralism distinction and at the same time failed to see the risks of pursuing causal pluralism
Physical Description:XII, 215 p. 1 illus online resource
ISBN:9783030879426