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Part-whole science

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Abstract

A scientific explanatory project, part-whole explanation, and a kind of science, part-whole science are premised on identifying, investigating, and using parts and wholes. In the biological sciences, mechanistic, structuralist, and historical explanations are part-whole explanations. Each expresses different norms, explananda, and aims. Each is associated with a distinct partitioning frame for abstracting kinds of parts. These three explanatory projects can be complemented in order to provide an integrative vision of the whole system, as is shown for a detailed case study: the tetrapod limb. My diagnosis of part-whole explanation in the biological sciences as well as in other domains exploring evolved, complex, and integrated systems (e.g., psychology and cognitive science) cross-cuts standard philosophical categories of explanation: causal explanation and explanation as unification. Part-whole explanation is itself one essential aspect of part-whole science.

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  1. Philosophy Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Rasmus Grønfeldt Winther

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Winther, R.G. Part-whole science. Synthese 178, 397–427 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-009-9647-0

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