Top-Down Causation and Emergence

ISBN-13: 9783030719012 / Angielski / Miękka / 2022

Opis

This book presents the latest research, conducted by leading philosophers and scientists from various fields, on the topic of top-down causation. The chapters combine to form a unique, interdisciplinary perspective, drawing upon George Ellis's extensive research and novel perspectives on topics including downwards causation, weak and strong emergence, mental causation, biological relativity, effective field theory and levels in nature. The collection also serves as a Festschrift in honour of George Ellis' 80th birthday. The extensive and interdisciplinary scope of this book makes it vital reading for anyone interested in the work of George Ellis and current research on the topics of causation and emergence.

Spis treści

1. Introduction

By the editors

2. Physical, Logical, and Mental Top-Down Effects

George Ellis and Markus Gabriel

3. Strong Emergence in Condensed Matter Physics

Barbara Drossel

4. The Reluctant Reductionist: On the Topic of Emergence from an Effective Field Theory Perspective

Thomas Luu and Ulf-G. Meißner

5. On the Notion of High-Level Causation

Simon Friederich and Sach Mukherjee

6. Biological Relativity: Developments and Concepts a Decade on

Denis Noble

7. Extended Evolution Theory and the Causal Structure of Evolutionary Theory

Manfred Laubichler

8. Intrinsic Actions of a Macro Agent

Larissa Albantakis and Giulio Tononi

9. Universality and Top-Down Causation in Physics and Biology

Sara Green

10. Mathematics and Top-Down Causation

Otávio Bueno

11. Downward Causation Defended

James Woodward

12. Models of Downward Causation

Maximilian Kistler

13. Models of Downward Causation and their Invisibility

Sophie Gibb

14. TBA

Terrence Deacon

15. Top-Down Causation without Levels

Jan Voosholz

16. A Pragmatist Perspective on Causation, Laws and Explanation

Richard Healey

17. Response

George Ellis

O autorze

Jan Voosholz is a PhD candidate in philosophy and research associate at the Center for Science and Thought, Universität Bonn. His research focuses on questions of ontology, epistemology and philosophy of science. In his PhD project, he strives to understand the consequences of Quentin Meillassoux's speculative realism and Markus Gabriel's new realism for the philosophy of science in general and the debate concerning realism and antirealism in particular. For research stays, he has spent time at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, and received a M.A. in philosophy and a B.A. in history from the Freie Universität Berlin.

Markus Gabriel is professor for philosophy at the Univeristät Bonn, holding the chair for epistemology, modern and contemporary philosophy. In ontology, he has been one of the frontline proponents of new realism, with his fields of sense ontology widely regarded as a key innovation in theoretical philosophy, worked extensively in epistemology and pioneered neo-existentialism in philosophy of mind. Apart from this, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, German idealism (most prominently Schelling), ancient philosophy, as well as philosophy of the 20th century can be counted amongst his areas of expertise. He was professor at the New School for Social Research, New York, and visiting professor at various universities, for instance Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, University of California Berkeley, Universidade Federal do Ceará Fortaleza, and many others. He is head of the International Centre for Philosophy NRW and the Center for Science and Thought at the Universität Bonn.