Bibliograph

Power and influence, the metaphysics of reductive explanation, Richard Corry

Type

Label

Power and influence, the metaphysics of reductive explanation, Richard Corry

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Power and influence

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

bibliographydictionaries

Oclc number

1100428050

Responsibility statement

Richard Corry

Series statement

Oxford scholarship online.

Sub title

the metaphysics of reductive explanation

Summary

The world is a complex place, and this complexity is an obstacle to our attempts to explain, predict, and control it. In this text, Richard Corry investigates the assumptions that are built into the reductive method of explanation - the method whereby we study the components of a complex system in relative isolation and use the information so gained to explain or predict the behaviour of the complex whole. He investigates the metaphysical presuppositions built into the reductive method, seeking to ascertain what the world must be like in order that the method could work. Corry argues that the method assumes the existence of causal powers that manifest causal influence - a relatively unrecognised ontological category, of which forces are a paradigm example. The success of the reductive method, therefore, is an argument for the existence of such causal influences.--, Provided by publisher

Target audience

specialized

Creator