Part-whole science

A scientific explanatory project, part-whole explanation, and a kind of science, part-whole science are premised on identifying, investigating, and using parts and wholes. In the biological sciences, mechanistic, structuralist, and historical explanations are part-whole explanations. Each expresses different norms, explananda, and chis associatedwithadistinctpartitioningframefor abstractingkinds of parts. These three explanatory projects can be complemented in order to provide an integrative vision of the whole system, as is shown for a detailed case study: the tetrapod limb. My diagnosis of part-whole explanation in the biological sciences as well as in other domains exploring evolved, complex, and integrated systems (e.g., psychology and cognitive science) cross-cuts standard philosophical categories of explanation: causal explanation and explanation as unification. Part-whole explanation is itself one essential aspect of part-whole science. Keywords Mechanisms · History · Explan...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: SYNTHESE
• Authors: Rasmus Grønfeldt Winther
• Keywords: Biological Sciences, Explanatory Projects, Part-whole Explanation, SYNTHESE 2011