Franklin, Alexander and Robertson, Katie (2021) Emerging into the Rainforest: Emergence and Special Science Ontology. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Many philosophers of science are ontologically committed to a lush rainforest of special science entities (Ross (2000)), but are often reticent about the criteria that determine which entities count as real. On the other hand, the metaphysics literature is much more forthcoming about such criteria, but often links ontological commitment to irreducibility. We argue that the irreducibility criteria are in tension with scientific realism: for example, they would exclude viruses, which are plausibly theoretically reducible and yet play a sufficiently important role in scientific accounts of the world that they should be included in our ontology.

In this paper, we show how the inhabitants of the rainforest can be inoculated against the eliminative threat of reduction: by demonstrating that they are emergent. According to our account, emergence involves a screening off condition as well as novelty. We go on to demonstrate that this account of emergence, which is compatible with theoretical reducibility, satisfies common intuitions concerning what should and shouldn't count as real: viruses are emergent, as are trouts and turkeys, but philosophically gerrymandered objects like trout-turkeys do not qualify.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Franklin, Alexander alexander.r.franklin@kcl.ac.uk 0000-0001-6034-4575 Robertson, Katie krobertson0706@gmail.com
Keywords:	Emergence Reduction Ontology Rainforest Screening Off Autonomy Novelty
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Natural Kinds Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Reductionism/Holism Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User:	Dr Alexander Franklin
Date Deposited:	19 Nov 2021 04:54
Last Modified:	19 Nov 2021 04:54
Item ID:	19912
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Natural Kinds Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Reductionism/Holism Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date:	November 2021
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19912

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• Emerging into the Rainforest: Emergence and Special Science Ontology. (deposited 19 Nov 2021 04:54) [Currently Displayed]
  • Emerging into the Rainforest: Emergence and Special Science Ontology. (deposited 31 Oct 2024 17:13)

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