Discovering Complexity: Decomposition and Localization As Strategies in Scientific Research - Hardcover

Bechtel, William; Richardson, Robert C.

 
9780691087627: Discovering Complexity: Decomposition and Localization As Strategies in Scientific Research
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0691087628 ISBN 13: 9780691087627
Verlag: Princeton University Press, 1993

Inhaltsangabe

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.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Verlag
Princeton University Press
Erscheinungsdatum
1993
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0691087628
ISBN 13 
9780691087627
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
286
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Princeton University Press
https://press.princeton.edu/books

7th Floor, New South Building
PRINCETON
NJ
8544
USA
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9780262514736: Discovering Complexity: Decomposition and Localization as Strategies in Scientific Research

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  0262514737 ISBN 13:  9780262514736
Verlag: The MIT Press, 2010
Softcover