Discovering complexity : decomposition and localization as strategies in scientific research

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書誌事項

Discovering complexity : decomposition and localization as strategies in scientific research

William Bechtel and Robert C. Richardson

Princeton University Press, c1993

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注記

Includes bibliographical references (p. [257]-280) and index

内容説明・目次

内容説明

Discovering Complexity offers an account of scientific discovery that aims to be psychologically and historically realistic. Drawing on cases from a number of life sciences, including biochemistry, genetics, and neuroscience, this study of the dynamics of theory development focuses on two psychological heuristics, decomposition and localization. William Bechtel and Robert Richardson identify a number of "choice-points" that scientists confront in developing mechanistic explanations and describe how different choices result in divergent explanatory models. According to Bechtel and Richardson's analysis, decomposition is the attempt to differentiate components of a system, while localization assigns responsibility for specific tasks to these components. The book examines in detail the usefulness of these heuristics in biological science, but also discusses their fallibility: underlying their use is the sometimes false assumption that nature is significantly decomposable and hierarchical. When a system does not appear to be decomposable, a classic response has been to abandon the pursuit of mechanistic explanation and to settle for accurate descriptions of phenomena. More recently, with advances in mathematical modeling, an alternative has emerged. Described in this work is an approach to explanation that appeals to interactions between simple components, rather than assigning functions to individual components.

目次

PrefacePt. IScientific Discovery and RationalityCh. 1Cognitive strategies and Scientific Discovery31Rationalizing Scientific Discovery32Procedural Rationality11Ch. 2Complex Systems and Mechanistic Explanations171Mechanistic Explanation172Decomposition and Localization233Hierarchy and Organization274Conclusion: Failure of Localization31Pt. IIEmerging MechanismsIntroduction35Ch. 3Identifying the Locus of Control391Introduction: Identifying System and Context392External Control: The Environment as a Control413Internal Control: The System as a Control474Fixing on a Locus of Control: The Cell in Respiration515Conclusion: Localization of Function59Ch. 4Direct Localization631Introduction: Relocating Control632Phrenology and Cerebral Localization653Competing Models of Cellular Respiration724Conclusion: Direct Localization and Competing Mechanisms88Ch. 5The Rejection of Mechanism931Introduction: Mechanism and Its Opponents932Flourens and the Integrity of the Nervous System953The Vitalist Opposition to Mechanistic Physiology994Conclusion: Settling for Descriptions113Pt. IIIElaborating MechanismsIntroduction119Ch. 6Complex Localization1251Introduction: Constraints on Localization1252Top-Down Constraints1283Bottom-Up Constraints1384Conclusion: The Rise and Decline of Decomposability145Ch. 7Integrated Mechanisms1491Introduction: Replacing a Direct Localization1492Direct Localization of Fermentation in Zymase1533A Complex Linear Model of Fermentation1564An Integrated System Responsible for Fermentation1635Conclusion: The Discovery of Integration168Ch. 8Reconstituting the Phenomena1731Introduction: Biochemical Genetics1732Classical Genetics1753Developmental Genetics1814One Gene/One Enzyme1885Conclusion: Reconstituting the Phenomena192Pt. IVEmergent MechanismIntroduction199Ch. 9"Emergent" Phenomena in Interconnected Networks2021Introduction: Dispensing with Modules2022Hierarchical Control: Hughlings Jackson's Analysis of the Nervous System2033Parallel Distributed Processing and Cognition2104Distributed Mechanisms for Genomic Regulation2235Conclusion: Mechanistic Explanations without Functional Decomposition and Localization227Ch. 10Constructing Causal Explanations2301Decomposition and Localization in Perspective2302Four Constraints on Development2343Conclusion: Looking Forward243Notes245References257Index281

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