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Jan 1, 1543
Nicolaus Copernicus: Heliocentric Solar System
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William Whewell: The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
William Whewell’s most notable contributions to the philosophy of science is his work, The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, Founded Upon Their History (1840) (Reidy and Forster). This work attempted to systematize the development of the sciences, and Whewell was trying to renovate Francis Bacon’s inductive method, based on his own observations of the historical development of the sciences, which, may have come from his work, History of the Inductive Sciences (1837). -
John A. Dupré: A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology
Since May 2013, Dupré has lead a significant project at Egenis, which is funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The project is, “A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology,” which is aimed at rethinking the central issues in the philosophy of biology to elaborate an ontology for biology that takes into the full account of processual nature of living systems (Dupré). -
John A. Dupré: A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology
References Dupré, John A. Staff Profile: Professor John Dupré. UKN. Web: http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/sociology/staff/dupre/. 06 May 2017.
Kennair, Leif Edward Ottesen. The Human Nature Review: Book Review Human Nature and the Limits of Science. 10 January 2002. Web: http://human-nature.com/nibbs/02/leok.html. 07 May 2017.
Press, University of Minnesota. Scientific Pluralism. 2006. Web: www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/scientific-pluralism. 07 May 2017. -
John A. Dupré: A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology
John A. Dupré is a professional philosopher of science and a professor of philosophy at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. Dupré headed the reintroduction of philosophy, which closed during the mid-1980’s (Dupré). Nevertheless, Dupré is an advocator for the pluralistic model of science, as opposed to reductionism (Kennair). The pluralistic model of science demonstrates the viability of the view that some phenomena require multiple accounts (Press). -
John A. Dupré: A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology
On the other hand, reductionism suggests that science may be reduced to physical explanations. For example, a physical reductionist would see psychological facts being reduced to neurological, which is then reduced to biological. Next, biology could be reduced or explained in terms of chemistry, etc.… John Dupré however, suggests that reductionism is not possible as the Earth has an inherently pluralistic structure (Kennair). -
John A. Dupré: A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology
John A. Dupré explains, “coming to terms with new developments in our understanding of biology requires that we take more seriously the ways in which life is dynamic at all levels, and that what we think of as living things - genes, cells, organisms - are more fundamental processes, maintained in relatively stable conditions by yet further processes. " (Dupré).
