Research Catalog

Title

Discovering complexity : decomposition and localization as strategies in scientific research / William Bechtel and Robert C. Richardson.

Author

Bechtel, William.

Publication

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, ©1993.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Richardson, Robert C., 1949-

Description

xiv, 286 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

"Discovering Complexity offers an account of scientific discovery that aims to be psychologically and historically realistic. Drawing on cases from a number of life sciences, including biochemistry, genetics, and neuroscience, this study of the dynamics of theory development focuses on two psychological heuristics, decomposition and localization. William Bechtel and Robert Richardson identify a number of "choice-points" that scientists confront in developing mechanistic explanations and describe how different choices result in divergent explanatory models."--BOOK JACKET. "According to Bechtel and Richardson's analysis, decomposition is the attempt to differentiate components of a system, while localization assigns responsibility for specific tasks to these components. The book examines in detail the usefulness of these heuristics in biological science, but also discusses their fallibility: underlying their use is the sometimes false assumption that nature is significantly decomposable and hierarchical. When a system does not appear to be decomposable, a classic response has been to abandon the pursuit of mechanistic explanation and to settle for accurate descriptions of phenomena. More recently, with advances in mathematical modeling, an alternative has emerged. Described in this work is an approach to explanation that appeals to interactions between simple components, rather than assigning functions to individual components."--Jacket.

Subject

• Research > Methodology
• Decomposition method
• Localization theory
• Complexity (Philosophy)
• System theory
• Research Design
• Science > methods
• Systems Theory
• 08.35 philosophy of science
• 30.02 philosophy and theory of the exact sciences
• System theory
• Decomposition method
• Localization theory
• Research > Methodology
• Complexiteit
• Onderzoek
• Recherche
• Complexité (philosophie)

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Pt. I. Scientific Discovery and Rationality. Ch. 1. Cognitive strategies and Scientific Discovery. 1. Rationalizing Scientific Discovery. 2. Procedural Rationality. Ch. 2. Complex Systems and Mechanistic Explanations. 1. Mechanistic Explanation. 2. Decomposition and Localization. 3. Hierarchy and Organization. 4. Conclusion: Failure of Localization -- Pt. II. Emerging Mechanisms. Ch. 3. Identifying the Locus of Control. 1. Introduction: Identifying System and Context. 2. External Control: The Environment as a Control. 3. Internal Control: The System as a Control. 4. Fixing on a Locus of Control: The Cell in Respiration. 5. Conclusion: Localization of Function. Ch. 4. Direct Localization. 1. Introduction: Relocating Control. 2. Phrenology and Cerebral Localization. 3. Competing Models of Cellular Respiration. 4. Conclusion: Direct Localization and Competing Mechanisms. Ch. 5. The Rejection of Mechanism. 1. Introduction: Mechanism and Its Opponents. 2. Flourens and the Integrity of the Nervous System. 3. The Vitalist Opposition to Mechanistic Physiology. 4. Conclusion: Settling for Descriptions -- Pt. III. Elaborating Mechanisms. Ch. 6. Complex Localization. 1. Introduction: Constraints on Localization. 2. Top-Down Constraints. 3. Bottom-Up Constraints. 4. Conclusion: The Rise and Decline of Decomposability. Ch. 7. Integrated Mechanisms. 1. Introduction: Replacing a Direct Localization. 2. Direct Localization of Fermentation in Zymase. 3. A Complex Linear Model of Fermentation. 4. An Integrated System Responsible for Fermentation. 5. Conclusion: The Discovery of Integration. Ch. 8. Reconstituting the Phenomena. 1. Introduction: Biochemical Genetics. 2. Classical Genetics. 3. Developmental Genetics. 4. One Gene/One Enzyme. 5. Conclusion: Reconstituting the Phenomena -- Pt. IV. Emergent Mechanism. Ch. 9. "Emergent" Phenomena in Interconnected Networks. 1. Introduction: Dispensing with Modules. 2. Hierarchical Control: Hughlings Jackson's Analysis of the Nervous System. 3. Parallel Distributed Processing and Cognition. 4. Distributed Mechanisms for Genomic Regulation. 5. Conclusion: Mechanistic Explanations without Functional Decomposition and Localization. Ch. 10. Constructing Causal Explanations. 1. Decomposition and Localization in Perspective. 2. Four Constraints on Development. 3. Conclusion: Looking Forward.

ISBN

• 0691087628
• 9780691087627

LCCN

92003359

OCLC

• ocm25246507
• 25246507
• SCSB-1968194

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library