PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE SEMINAR, H. R o b i n s o n

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