November 4 version PHIL 858U Seminar in Unity and Disunity in Science Fall, 1997 Lindley Darden Goal: The course is a general seminar on the topic of unity and disunity in science. Topics to be discussed include: Should science be unified? To what extent? The older perspective was unification of science via reduction. Is that still a viable position? Can physics be expected to supply an all-encompassing, lower level theory? Are there emergent levels in biology and psychology that make reduction impossible? To what extent are there laws in biology that function to provide unificatory explanations? To what extent can interfield connections provide unification (integration) of areas of science, e.g., genetics, biochemistry and structural chemistry via molecular biology (Darden), cognitive and neurobiology via cognitive-neuroscience? Useful details: Instructor: Lindley Darden, Professor of Philosophy. Office: 1107C Skinner. Mailbox: Philosophy Department, 1125 Skinner; Phone: 405-5699. Office hours: 1:00-1:45 TTh and by appointment, especially just before class on Tuesdays. Email: darden@umiacs.umd.edu Disabilities: If a student has a documented disability and wishes to discuss academic accommodations with the instructor, please contact her as soon as possible. Honesty: Honesty on the part of students is presumed. Students who have difficulty writing good English may get help with grammar and the organization of their writing at the Writing Center (Room 0125, Tailiafero Hall), but they may not get unacknowledged help with the content of their work. Learn exactly what plagiarism is and avoid it at all costs. Class listserv: There is a listserv for the class to exchange information by email. If you do not have an email account, get a wam (Workstations at Maryland) account at the Consulting Lab (CSS 1400). To subscribe to the class listserv, from your own email account where you wish to receive messages, send a message to listserv@umdd.umd.edu Leave the subject blank. In the body of the message type: subscribe PHIL858U your first name your last name, e.g., subscribe PHIL858u Peter Galison Send message. In order to send messages to all subscribers, send to PHIL858U@umdd.umd.edu NOTE THE TWO DIFFERENT ADDRESSES FOR SUBSCRIBING AND FOR SENDING MESSAGES. This account is only to be used for class material and discussions; do not send other items to this list. The University and I will make every effort we can to keep spams off this list; however, I have not restricted the subscribers to those with on-campus email addresses, since some students may have off-campus email accounts, so junk from the horrid email mass mailers may appear. Just delete. Requirements: (1) and either (2) or (3) (1) Each student will be "up" for at least two of the early classes, which entails (i) being even more prepared than usual on the readings and (ii) preparing questions for class discussion, which are to be posted to the class listserv no later than the Friday before the Tuesday class and which are also to be typed onto no more than one page, copied, and distributed in class. The "upÓ student should also be prepared to provide a brief summary of the material at the beginning of class. Of course, all students should be prepared to discuss all the required reading, be prepared to answer the questions, and raise other pertinent questions at every class. (2) Prepare a thesis statement and bibliography for a paper on a critical, analytical philosophy topic related to the unity of science and get approval from the instructor. Prepare a written version of a class presentation on the topic and enter the competition.* The presentation should be timed for 20 minutes and may include pictures for 35 mm slides or transparency overheads. Write a final paper on the topic, which will be longer and more detailed than the class presentation. Ideally, it would be an article suitable to send to a particular philosophy (or history of science) journal. You may wish to specify the journal for which you are writing. Or: (3) Choose one of the articles in the Galison book to present in class. Prepare a statement, indicating which article you have chosen and why; you may wish to include related bibliographic items for recommended reading to accompany the article, questions for class discussion or other items. Submit for approval by the instructor. Prepare about a lecture (20 minutes) on the article, which would be suitable for teaching the article in class. Enter the class presentation competition.* Take the final take-home examination. *Class presentation competition: In order to ensure good quality class presentations by students, there will be a competition for time slots. All registered students must enter the competition. Auditors may enter if they wish but they will have lower priority. The instructor will choose the best proposals to be presented in class. The studentÌs prospects for getting an A in the seminar will be boosted by giving a successful presentation. Stages for presentation competition and paper: Dates: (a) During September, if you wish, make an appointment with the instructor to discuss the topic of your presentation and paper. (b) On October 7 turn in a typed statement as to how you will satisfy (2) or (3) above. (c) *October 28: Class competition: turn in five page lecture on article or turn in a paper (and overheads) with a reading time of 20 minutes. (d) November 18: Turn in an optional complete draft of your final paper for comments from the instructor. (e) Turn in final paper December 2 or receive a take-home final examination. No late papers will be accepted. If no paper is turned in on that date, then the student will be given a take-home final examination covering all the material in the course. (f) December 9: Turn in the take-home final at 5:00 PM. The grade for the final examination will decrease by a part of a letter grade for each 24 hour period that it is late. No exam will be accepted after December 12 at noon. Failure to turn in either a paper or a final examination will result in a failing grade for the course. All written material must be typed, double-spaced, with adequate margins for comments, carefully spell-checked and written with all the good writing skills you have. Keep a hard copy of the final draft of anything turned in. Be prepared to produce an additional hard copy if asked. Grading: Class participation (questions, discussions, possible presentation) throughout the seminar will count one-fourth of the final grade; the paper or exam will count three-fourths of the final grade. Required Books: DuprÈ, J. (1993), The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-21260-6 Galison, Peter and David J. Stump (eds.) (1996), The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-804702562-4 (pbk) Rosenberg, Alexander (1994), Instrumental Biology or the Disunity of Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. ISBN 0-226-72726-2 (pbk) Topics: Sept. 2: Introduction; issues in unity of science; reduction of Mendelian genetics to molecular genetics; fields in the emergence of molecular biology Required: none Recommended reading: Schaffner, Kenneth (1993), Discovery and Explanation in Biology and Medicine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Ch. 9, Reduction. Additional readings from the handout: Bibliography on Reduction Sept. 9: unity via reduction vs. interfield bridges "up" assignments to be made Required reading: Oppenheim, Paul and Hilary Putnam (1958), "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis," in Herbert Feigl, Michael Scriven and Grover Maxwell (eds.), Concepts, Theories and the Mind-Body Problem, Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science. V. 2. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 3-36. DuprÈ, pp. 225-229 Darden, Lindley and Nancy Maull (1977), "Interfield Theories," Philosophy of Science 44: 43-64. Maull, Nancy (1977), "Unifying Science Without Reduction," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 8:143-162. Recommended reading: Begin reading DuprÈ, Introduction and Part I; scan chapter topics and read any that might be relevant to a paper you would like to do Sept. 16: Part I: topic: unification in physics Visiting speaker: Sylvester J (Jim) Gates, Professor of Physics; "Superstrings: Why Einstein Would Love Spaghetti in Fundamental Physics" Required reading: Paper on Web: "Taking the Particle out of Particle Physics" at http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~siegel/quo.html Part II: general topics in the unity of science Required reading: Galison, Introduction, pp. 1-33. Recommended: scan additional articles in Galison and discuss with classmates which are of most interest to you Sept. 23: DuprÈ, Part I, Natural Kinds and Essentialism Required reading: DuprÈ, Ch. 1, Natural Kinds DuprÈ, Ch. 2, Species DuprÈ, Ch. 3, Essences Sept. 30: DuprÈ, Part II, Reductionism Required reading: DuprÈ, Ch. 4, Reductionism and Materialism DuprÈ, Ch. 5, Reductionism in Biology I: Ecology DuprÈ, Ch. 6, Reductionism in Biology I: Genetics DuprÈ, Ch. 7, Reductionism and the Mental Oct. 7: DuprÈ, Part III, The Limits of Causality Due date for statement (and bibliography) for presentation/paper (see (2) and (3) above) Required reading: DuprÈ, Ch. 8, Determinism DuprÈ, Ch. 9, Probabilistic Causality Oct. 14: DuprÈ, Part IV, Some Consequences of Disorder Required reading: DuprÈ, Ch. 10, The Disunity of Science DuprÈ, Ch. 11, Science and Values Recommended: Begin reading Rosenberg Oct. 21: Rosenberg, Chs. 1-4 Required reading: Rosenberg, Ch. 1, Biology as an Instrumental Science Rosenberg, Ch. 2, Whatever Happened to Reductionism? Rosenberg, Ch. 3, Reductionism and Explanation in Molecular Biology Rosenberg, Ch. 4, Evolution, Drift and Subjective Probability Recommended reading: Rosenberg, A. (1985), The Structure of Biological Science. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Oct. 28: Rosenberg, Chs. 5-8 Written version of lecture or oral presentation draft of paper (reading time: 20 minutes) due Required reading: Rosenberg, Ch. 5, Biological Instrumentalism and the Levels of Selection Rosenberg, Ch. 6, Theories and Models, Replicators and Interactors Rosenberg, Ch. 7, Instrumental Biology and Intentional Psychology Rosenberg, Ch. 8, Biology and the Behavioral Sciences Nov. 4: Emergence Required reading: Kauffman, Stuart A. (1992), "Origins of Order in Evolution: Self-Organization and Selection," in Brian Goodwin and Peter Saunders (eds.) Theoretical Biology: Epigenetic and Evolutionary Order from Complex Systems. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 67-88. Wimsatt, William (forthcoming), "Emergence as Non-Aggregativity and the Biases of Reductionisms," in P. J. Taylor and J. Haila (eds.), Natural Contradictions: Perspectives on Ecology and Change (Festschrift for Richard Levins), Albany: SUNY Press. (22 page preprint) Wimsatt, William (1980), "Reductionist Research Strategies and Their Biases in the Units of Selection Controversy," in T. Nickles (ed.), 1980, Scientific Discovery: Case Studies. Dordrecht: Reidel, pp. 213-259. Humphreys, Paul (1997), "How Properties Emerge," Philosophy of Science 64:1-17. Wimsatt and Humphreys articles in PSA96 Part II (unfortunately not available) Kim, Jaegwon (1992), ""Downward Causation" in Emergentism and Nonreductive Physicalism," in A. Beckermann, H. Flohr, and J. Kim (eds.), Emergence or Reduction? Essays on the Prospects of Nonreductive Physicalism. New York: W. de Gruyter, pp. 119-138. Recommended reading on emergence: Bechtel, William and Robert C. Richardson (1992), "Emergent Phenomena and Complex Systems," in A. Beckermann, H. Flohr, and J. Kim (eds.), Emergence or Reduction? Berlin: W. de Gruyter, pp. 257-288. Burian, Richard M and Richardson, Robert C. (1990), "Form and Order in Evolutionary Biology: Stuart Kauffman's Transformation of Theoretical Biology," in A. Fine, Micky Forbes and Linda Wessels (eds.), PSA 1990, v. 2. East Lansing, Michigan: Philosophy of Science Association, pp. 267-287. Kauffman, Stuart A. (1993), The Origins of Order: Self-organization and Selection in Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press, sections on emergence Kauffman, Stuart A. (1995), At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-organization and Complexity. New York: Oxford University Press, sections on emergence Nov. 11: Kitcher on explanatory unification-Rob Skipper is "up" Required reading: Kitcher, Philip (1989), "Explanatory Unification and the Causal Structure of the World," in Philip Kitcher and Wesley Salmon (eds.), Scientific Explanation. Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, V. 13. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 410-505. Recommended: see handout: Bibliography on Explanatory Unification Nov. 18: Interfield relations between cognitive psychology and neurobiology topic: memory Optional complete draft of paper due for instructor comments Visiting speaker: Carl Craver, Department of History & Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh Required reading (in this order): review Darden and Maull (1977) Bechtel, William (1988), Philosophy of Science: An Overview for Cognitive Science. Hillsdale: New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, Ch. 5, "Theory Reduction as a Model for Relating Theories," and Ch. 6, "An Alternative Model for Integrating Disciplines,Ó especially sections: "Darden and Maull's Conception of Interfield Theories" and "Interfield Theories Between Cognitive Science and Neuroscience" (inclusive pages: pp. 71-118). Stevens, Charles F. (1996), "Spatial Learning and Memory: The Beginning of a Dream," Cell 87:1147-1148. Scoville, William Beecher and Brenda Milner (1957), "Loss of Recent Memory After Bilateral Hippocampal Lesions," J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat. 20:11-21. Roush, Wade (1997), "New Knockout Mice Point to Molecular Basis of Memory," Science 275:32-33. Dinner with Carl Craver after class Nov. 25: Class presentations Part I: Tara Scheufler, topic: Logical Positivism and the Unity of Science Required reading: Creath, Richard (1996), "The Unity of Science: Carnap, Neurath, and Beyond," in Peter Galison and David J. Stump (eds.), The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 158-169. Cat, Jordi, Nancy Cartwright, and Hasok Chang (1996), "Otto Neurath: Politics and the Unity of Science," in Peter Galison and David J. Stump (eds.), The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 347-369. Part II: Matt Seaman, "Interfield Theories in Linguistics" Dec. 2: Class presentations Due date for final paper or receive take-home examination Part I: Nancy Kader, topic: Hacking's Styles of Reasoning Required reading: Hacking, Ian (1996), "The Disunities of Science," in Peter Galison and David J. Stump (eds.), The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 37-74. Part II: Blaine Nelson, topic: Galison on Computer Simulations Required reading: Galison, Peter (1996), "Computer Simulations and the Trading Zone," in Peter Galison and David J. Stump (eds.), The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 118-157. Dec. 9: Class presentations Due date for take-home examination Part I: Jason Griffey, "DuprÈ's Epistemological/Ontological Problem" Recommended reading: review DuprÈ's book and DuprÈ, John (1996), "Metaphysical Disorder and Scientific Disunity," in Peter Galison and David J. Stump (eds.), The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 101-117. Part II: Tetsuji Iseda, "Disunification of American Sociology During the 1960s and 1970s" Dinner after class, instructor's treat, all welcome. Happy Holidays!