TY - CHAP
T1 - Mechanisms: Ancient Sources
AU - Popa, Tiberiu
N1 - Scientists studying the burning of stars, the evolution of species, DNA, the brain, the economy, and social change, all frequently describe their work as searching for mechanisms. Despite this fact, for much of the twentieth century philosophical discussions of the nature of mechanisms remained outside philosophy of science.The Routledge Handbook of Mechanisms and Mechanical Philosophy is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject and is the
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - This chapter analyses recent debates about the essential features of mechanisms and about the relation between mechanisms and laws of nature cannot find, of course, any close antecedents in the texts and theories. It briefly sketches a prehistory of the idea of mechanism. The chapter focuses on the claims and arguments of several philosophers and philosophically minded scientists rather than on more purely scientific studies on mechanics, which might yield less insight into general, theoretical approaches to causation and to what is called mechanisms. The Mechanics has been traditionally included in the Aristotelian corpus. Some treatments of explanatory mechanisms are quite self-conscious and crisply articulated; others are vaguer and fairly tentative. Attitudes concerning the appeal to technological models and analogies meant to represent the mechanisms that were determined, sometimes in complicated ways, by various philosophical doctrines.
AB - This chapter analyses recent debates about the essential features of mechanisms and about the relation between mechanisms and laws of nature cannot find, of course, any close antecedents in the texts and theories. It briefly sketches a prehistory of the idea of mechanism. The chapter focuses on the claims and arguments of several philosophers and philosophically minded scientists rather than on more purely scientific studies on mechanics, which might yield less insight into general, theoretical approaches to causation and to what is called mechanisms. The Mechanics has been traditionally included in the Aristotelian corpus. Some treatments of explanatory mechanisms are quite self-conscious and crisply articulated; others are vaguer and fairly tentative. Attitudes concerning the appeal to technological models and analogies meant to represent the mechanisms that were determined, sometimes in complicated ways, by various philosophical doctrines.
UR - https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Mechanisms-and-Mechanical-Philosophy/Glennan-Illari/p/book/9780367573416
M3 - Chapter
BT - The Routledge Handbook of Mechanisms and Mechanical Philosophy
ER -