AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 233, Issue 3 75-R82, Copyright © 1977 by American Physiological Society
Levels and reduction
M. Bunge
This paper addresses the problem of reconciling pluralism with
reductionism, i.e., acknowledging both the variety of the world and the
need and possibility to explain it. First the various kinds of monism and
pluralism that litter the scientific and philosophical literature are
examined cursorily. Then certain maligned notions are examined, mainly
those of novelty, self-assembly, level, and levels "hierarchy." They are
shown to be amenable to analysis and even mathematization. Then the logic
of reduction is analyzed. Two kinds of reduction are distinguished: full or
straight, and partial or roundabout. And three stands on reduction are
examined: anti-, radical, and moderate reductionism. The former is
dismissed for being obscurantist and the second for being quixotic.
Moderate reductionism, aiming at the (partial) reduction of higher levels
to lower ones without skipping any intermediate levels, is adopted. Finally
moderate reductionism is found to be consistent with a certain variety of
pluralism, characterized as naturalistic.
