Thanks for closing the loop, Günther. I guess it doesn't surprise me much that a philosopher and an engineer found themselves talking past each other...
;-} --Doug On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 2:14 PM,Gü nther Greindl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > Doug, > > > I have not read "On the Origin of Objects"; I may browse it if I ever > > have some free time. > > I think you would find it quite to your liking - the author himself > would say that he is _not_ a reductionist. > > I have read all the comments in this thread, and I think we have been > talking a bit past each other. > > The main interest here on the list seems to be in explanation and > prediction - epistemology. > > My concerns with reductionism are purely ontological - as a philsopher, > I am concerned with the ultimate nature of reality. Science of course > can be done in lots of manners, and in the wake of logical positivism is > often done in an instrumental way (I think that is quite detrimental, > but that is another topic for another day...) > > So I think we were actually talking past each other: you were talking > about levels of description (exclusively), and I was talking about > ontology (albeit a new form of ontology, see the Cantwell-Smith book, > which deviates very much from tratitional philosophical considerations > on this topic). > > > Don't get me wrong: I do not totally reject reductionism. Well, > > actually, I do, as regards to finding any utility in it for myself. But > > other people seem to swear by it, and I am truly happy for them. > > Agreed :-) Science profits from an abundance of ideas. I have never > understood why in science everybody is bashing at each other. More > harmony could be expected, after all, we all have the common goal of > understanding the world. > > Cheers, > Günther > > > -- > Günther Greindl > Department of Philosophy of Science > University of Vienna > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Blog: http://www.complexitystudies.org/ > Thesis: http://www.complexitystudies.org/proposal/ > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
