Philosophy of Science : Between the Natural Sciences, the Social Sciences, and the Humanities

This broad and insightful book presents current scholarship in important subfields of philosophy of science and addresses an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary readership. It groups carefully selected contributions into the four fields of I) philosophy of physics, II) philosophy of life sciences, III) philosophy of social sciences and values in science, and IV) philosophy of mathematics and formal modeling. Readers will discover research papers by Paul Hoyningen-Huene, Keizo Matsubara, Kian Salimkhani, Andrea Reichenberger, Anne Sophie Meincke, Javier Suárez, Roger Deulofeu, Ludger Jansen, Peter Hucklenbroich, Martin Carrier, Elizaveta Kostrova, Lara Huber, Jens Harbecke, Antonio Piccolomini d’Aragona and Axel Gelfert. This collection fosters dialogue between philosophers of science working in different subfields, and brings readers the finest and latest work across the breadth of the field, illustrating that contemporary philosophy of science has successfully broadened its scope of reflection. It will interest and inspire a wide audience of philosophers as well as scholars of the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The volume shares selected contributions from the prestigious second triennial conference of the German Society for Philosophy of Science/ Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftsphilosophie (GWP.2016, March 8, 2016 – March 11, 2016). Acknowledgment 6 Contents 7 Contributors 9 Introduction 13 Part I Philosophy of Physics 22 1 Are There Good Arguments Against Scientific Realism? 23 1.1 Introduction 24 1.2 Levels of Philosophical Radicality 26 1.3 The Miracle Argument 29 1.4 Selective Realism 35 1.5 Conclusion 40 References 41 2 Quantum Gravity: A Dogma of Unification? 43 2.1 Introduction 43 2.2 Some Remarks on Quantum Gravity 44 2.3 The Canonical Picture of General Relativity 47 2.4 Weinberg's Conception of General Relativity 50 2.5 Deriving the Principle of Equivalence 51 2.6 What Do We Learn from This? 55 2.7 Critical Remarks 57 2.8 Unification Revisited 58 References 59 3 On Predictions and Explanations in Multiverse Scenarios 62 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 String Theory and the Landscape 63 3.3 On Fine-Tuning and the Anthropic Principle 65 3.4 Criteria for Scientifically Respectable Multiverse Theories 68 3.5 Summary and Conclusions 71 References 72 4 The Clock Paradox: Luise Lange's Discussion 74 4.1 The Clock Paradox: Luise Lange's Solution and Its Context 74 4.2 Two Incorrect Solutions 78 4.3 Conclusion 79 References 80 Part II Philosophy of Life Sciences 81 5 Bio-Agency and the Possibility of Artificial Agents 82 5.1 Introduction 82 5.2 The Systems Biological Criticism of Embodied Robotics 86 5.2.1 The Emancipation of Agency from Metabolism 86 5.2.2 No Agency Without Metabolism 88 5.3 No Agency Without Metabolism? 90 5.3.1 A Fundamental Difference 90 5.3.2 The Wrong Matter? 91 5.3.3 Metabolism, Intrinsic Normativity and Agency 98 5.4 Conclusions 104 References 108 6 When Mechanisms Are Not Enough: The Origin of Eukaryotes and Scientific Explanation 111 6.1 Introduction 112 6.2 Symbiosis Theories of the Origin of Eukaryotic Cells 113 6.3 Mechanistic Explanation 116 6.4 Symbiogenesis as a Nomological-Expectable Explanation of the Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell 121 6.5 Concluding Remarks 128 References 129 7 Functions, Malfunctioning, and Negative Causation 132 7.1 Introduction 133 7.2 Desiderata for a Theory of Functions 134 7.3 Varieties of Malfunctioning 136 7.4 Malfunctions and Malfunctionings 138 7.5 Are Functions Dispositions? 140 7.5.1 Are All Dispositions Functions? 140 7.5.2 Are All Functions Dispositions? 141 7.6 Possible Strategies for Special-Disposition Accounts 142 7.7 Non-optionality: Why Functions Are Essential 144 7.8 Causal Efficacy: A Dilemma and a Way Out 146 7.9 Conclusion 148 References 149 8 Disease Entities, Negative Causes, Multifactoriality, and the Naturalness of Disease Classifications. Remarks on Some Philosophical Misperceptions of Medical Pathology 151 8.1 Introduction 152 8.2 The Concept of Disease Entity in Medicine 152 8.2.1 Prehistory of the Concept 152 8.2.2 The Modern Concept 153 8.2.2.1 The Concept of Etiological Factors 154 8.2.2.2 Physiological Laws and Disease Entities 155 8.2.2.3 Disease Entities and Medical Textbooks 156 8.2.2.4 Disease Entities and Individual Sickness 157 8.3 Disease Entities in Philosophy of Medicine 157 8.3.1 H. Tristram Engelhardt's Misguided Interpretation of Disease Entities 158 8.3.2 Caroline Whitbeck's Misrepresentation of Disease Entities 159 8.3.2.1 Whitbeck's Argument Against Objectivity of Etiological Factors 161 8.3.2.2 Whitbeck's Argument Against the Uniqueness and Unambiguousness of Etiological Factors 162 8.3.2.3 Whitbeck's Argument Against the Naturalness of Disease Classifications 163 8.4 Epilogue 164 References 165 Part III Philosophy of Social Sciences and Values in Science 167 9 Identifying Agnotological Ploys: How to Stay Clear of Unjustified Dissent 168 9.1 Delineating Agnotological Endeavors 168 9.2 Characterizing Agnotological Maneuvers 171 9.3 The Impact Centered Approach: Agnotology as the Shift of Inductive Risks 173 9.4 Agnotology and False Advertising 174 9.5 Generalizing the False Advertising Account 175 9.6 Identifying and Coping with Agnotological Machinations 179 9.7 Conclusion 181 References 181 10 The “Ought”-Dimension in Value Theory: The Concept of the Desirable in John Dewey's Definition of Value and Its Significance for the Social Sciences 183 10.1 Introduction 184 10.2 The Invention of the “Desirable”: John Dewey 185 10.3 The Definition of Value for the Social Science: Clyde Kluckhohn 189 10.4 The Convergence of the “Desirable” and the “Important”: Social Psychology 191 10.5 Conclusion: The Normative Aspect of Desirability 193 References 196 11 From Stability to Validity: How Standards Serve Epistemic Ends 198 11.1 Introduction 198 11.2 What Are Standards? 199 11.3 How Do Standards Relate to Ends? 200 11.3.1 Stability as Epistemic End of Standardisation 201 11.3.2 Homogeneity as Epistemic End of Standardisation 203 11.3.3 Internal Validity as Epistemic End of Standardisation 207 11.4 Is There an Epistemic Gain of Standardisation? 209 11.5 Conclusions 210 References 211 Part IV Philosophy of Mathematics and Formal Modeling 213 12 Constitutive Inference and the Problem of a Complete Variation of Factors 214 12.1 Introduction 214 12.2 Explanation in Neuroscience 216 12.3 Regularity Constitution 217 12.4 Constitutive Inference 220 12.5 The Problem of a Full Variation of Factors 224 12.6 Conclusion 228 References 229 13 A Partial Calculus for Dag Prawitz's Theory of Grounds and a Decidability Issue 231 13.1 Introduction 231 13.2 Prawitz on BHK Proofs in 1977 232 13.3 The Theory of Grounds 234 13.3.1 Context 234 13.3.2 Grounds and Their Language 236 13.3.3 Valid Inferences and a Decidability Issue 246 13.4 General and Specific Decidability 247 13.5 Concluding Remarks 250 References 251 14 Models in Search of Targets: Exploratory Modelling and the Case of Turing Patterns 253 14.1 Introduction 253 14.2 Exploration, Heuristics, and the (Im)possibility of `Theory-Free' Science 255 14.3 Functions and Uses of Exploratory Models 260 14.4 The Case of Reaction-Diffusion Models for Biological Pattern Formation 266 14.5 Conclusion 275 References 276 Author Index 278 Subject Index 280 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Are There Good Arguments Against Scientific Realism? (Paul Hoyningen-Huene)....Pages 3-22 Quantum Gravity: A Dogma of Unification? (Kian Salimkhani)....Pages 23-41 On Predictions and Explanations in Multiverse Scenarios (Keizo Matsubara)....Pages 43-54 The Clock Paradox: Luise Lange’s Discussion (Andrea Reichenberger)....Pages 55-61 Front Matter ....Pages 63-63 Bio-Agency and the Possibility of Artificial Agents (Anne Sophie Meincke)....Pages 65-93 When Mechanisms Are Not Enough: The Origin of Eukaryotes and Scientific Explanation (Roger Deulofeu, Javier Suárez)....Pages 95-115 Functions, Malfunctioning, and Negative Causation (Ludger Jansen)....Pages 117-135 Disease Entities, Negative Causes, Multifactoriality, and the Naturalness of Disease Classifications. Remarks on Some Philosophical Misperceptions of Medical Pathology (Peter Hucklenbroich)....Pages 137-152 Front Matter ....Pages 153-153 Identifying Agnotological Ploys: How to Stay Clear of Unjustified Dissent (Martin Carrier)....Pages 155-169 The “Ought”-Dimension in Value Theory: The Concept of the Desirable in John Dewey’s Definition of Value and Its Significance for the Social Sciences (Elizaveta Kostrova)....Pages 171-185 From Stability to Validity: How Standards Serve Epistemic Ends (Lara Huber)....Pages 187-201 Front Matter ....Pages 203-203 Constitutive Inference and the Problem of a Complete Variation of Factors (Jens Harbecke)....Pages 205-221 A Partial Calculus for Dag Prawitz’s Theory of Grounds and a Decidability Issue (Antonio Piccolomini d’Aragona)....Pages 223-244 Models in Search of Targets: Exploratory Modelling and the Case of Turing Patterns (Axel Gelfert)....Pages 245-269 Back Matter ....Pages 271-274 Annotation This broad and insightful book presents current scholarship in important subfields of philosophy of science and addresses an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary readership. It groups carefully selected contributions into the four fields of I) philosophy of physics, II) philosophy of life sciences, III) philosophy of social sciences and values in science, and IV) philosophy of mathematics and formal modeling. Readers will discover research papers by Paul Hoyningen-Huene, Keizo Matsubara, Kian Salimkhani, Andrea Reichenberger, Anne Sophie Meincke, Javier Suárez, Roger Deulofeu, Ludger Jansen, Peter Hucklenbroich, Martin Carrier, Elizaveta Kostrova, Lara Huber, Jens Harbecke, Antonio Piccolomini d'Aragona and Axel Gelfert. This collection fosters dialogue between philosophers of science working in different subfields, and brings readers the finest and latest work across the breadth of the field, illustrating that contemporary philosophy of science has successfully broadened its scope of reflection. It will interest and inspire a wide audience of philosophers as well as scholars of the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The volume shares selected contributions from the prestigious second triennial conference of the German Society for Philosophy of Science/ Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftsphilosophie (GWP. 2016, March 8, 2016 - March 11, 2016)