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How was the hypothetical character of theories of experiencethought
about throughout the history of science? The essays cover periods
from the middle ages to the 19th and 20th centuries. It is
fascinating to see how natural scientists and philosophers were
increasingly forced to realize that a natural science without
hypotheses is not possible.
Focusing on Hermann von Helmholtz, this study addresses one of the
nineteenth century's most important German natural scientists.
Among his most well-known contributions to science are the
invention of the ophthalmoscope and grou- breaking work towards
formulating the law of the conservation of energy. The volume of
his work, reaching from medicine to physiology to physics and epis-
mology, his impact on the development of the sciences far beyond
German borders, and the contribution he made to the organization
and popularization of research, all established Helmholtz's
prominence both in the academic world and in public cultural life.
Helmholtz was also one of the last representatives of a conception
of nature that strove to reduce all phenomena to matter in motion.
In reaction to the increasingly insurmountable difficulties that
program had in fulfilling its own standards for s- entific
explanation, he developed elements of a modern understanding of
science that have remained of fundamental importance to this day.
Focusing on Hermann von Helmholtz, this study addresses one of the
nineteenth century's most important German natural scientists.
Among his most well-known contributions to science are the
invention of the ophthalmoscope and grou- breaking work towards
formulating the law of the conservation of energy. The volume of
his work, reaching from medicine to physiology to physics and epis-
mology, his impact on the development of the sciences far beyond
German borders, and the contribution he made to the organization
and popularization of research, all established Helmholtz's
prominence both in the academic world and in public cultural life.
Helmholtz was also one of the last representatives of a conception
of nature that strove to reduce all phenomena to matter in motion.
In reaction to the increasingly insurmountable difficulties that
program had in fulfilling its own standards for s- entific
explanation, he developed elements of a modern understanding of
science that have remained of fundamental importance to this day.
Gregor Schiemann defends the relevance of Aristotle's and
Descartes' concept of nature, which define nature in contrast to
the non-natural. These traditional concepts however prove to be
valid only within limited contexts. In the first part of his book,
the author demonstrates that both Aristotle's view of nature as a
counterpart to technology in the "life-world" and Descartes'
dualism of nature and mind with respect to our own experience of
consciousness have remained guiding principles. Using Aristotle's
doctrine of the soul and Descartes' mechanism as examples,
Schiemann then shows that there is cross-fertilisation between
these conceptual pairs. This natural-philosophical and
epistemological study combines elements of analytical philosophy
with approaches from phenomenology. It aims to contribute to a
plural understanding of nature, which abandons claims to universal
validity.
This volume offers a broad, philosophical discussion on mechanical
explanations. Coverage ranges from historical approaches and
general questions to physics and higher-level sciences . The
contributors also consider the topics of complexity, emergence, and
reduction. Mechanistic explanations detail how certain properties
of a whole stem from the causal activities of its parts. This kind
of explanation is in particular employed in explanatory models of
the behavior of complex systems. Often used in biology and
neuroscience, mechanistic explanation models have been often
overlooked in the philosophy of physics. The authors correct this
surprising neglect. They trace these models back to their origins
in physics. The papers present a comprehensive historical,
methodological, and problem-oriented investigation. The
contributors also investigate the conditions for using models of
mechanistic explanations in physics. The last papers make the
bridge from physics to economics, the theory of complex systems and
computer science . This book will appeal to graduate students and
researchers with an interest in the philosophy of science,
scientific explanation, complex systems, models of explanation in
physics higher level sciences, and causal mechanisms in science.
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