1st Edition
Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Contemporary Science
The last two decades have seen two significant trends emerging within the philosophy of science: the rapid development and focus on the philosophy of the specialised sciences, and a resurgence of Aristotelian metaphysics, much of which is concerned with the possibility of emergence, as well as the ontological status and indispensability of dispositions and powers in science. Despite these recent trends, few Aristotelian metaphysicians have engaged directly with the philosophy of the specialised sciences. Additionally, the relationship between fundamental Aristotelian concepts—such as "hylomorphism", "substance", and "faculties"—and contemporary science has yet to receive a critical and systematic treatment. Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Contemporary Science aims to fill this gap in the literature by bringing together essays on the relationship between Aristotelianism and science that cut across interdisciplinary boundaries. The chapters in this volume are divided into two main sections covering the philosophy of physics and the philosophy of the life sciences. Featuring original contributions from distinguished and early-career scholars, this book will be of interest to specialists in analytical metaphysics and the philosophy of science.
Foreword John Haldane
Introduction: Reflections on Contemporary Science and the New Aristotelianism Robert C. Koons, William M. R. Simpson and Nicholas J. Teh
Part 1 : The Philosophy of Physics
1. Dodging the Fundamentalist Threat Xavi Lanao and Nicholas J. Teh
2. Actuality, Potentiality, and Relativity's Block Universe Edward Feser
3. The Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: A Hylomorphic Critique and Alternative Robert C. Koons
4. A Traveling Forms Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics Alexander Pruss
5. Half-baked Humeanism William M. R. Simpson
6. Disentangling Nature’s Joints Tuomas Tahko
Part 2: The Philosophy of the Life Sciences
7. Structural Powers and the Homeodynamic Unity of the Organism Christopher Austin & Anna Marmodoro
8. A Biologically Informed Hylomorphism Christopher Austin
9. The Great Unifier: Form and the Unity of the Organism David Oderberg
10. Action, Animacy, and Substance Causation Janice Chik
11. Psychology Without a Mental-Physical Dichotomy William Jaworski
12. Hylomorphism and the New Mechanist Philosophy in Biology, Neuroscience, and Psychology Daniel De Haan
Biography
William M.R. Simpson is Research Associate at the University of St Andrews, UK and a postgraduate student of philosophy at the University of Cambridge, UK. He was formerly a Research Fellow in Theoretical Physics at The Weizmann Institute, Israel.
Robert C. Koons is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
Nicholas J. Teh is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, USA. He was formerly a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK.
"The level of scholarship throughout is of the highest caliber . . . Those committed to an Aristotelian view of the world need not set themselves at odds with modern science. On the contrary, a compelling case can be made—as the contributors to this anthology convincingly show—that an Aristotelian perspective on modern science is needed now more than ever. Summing Up: Highly recommended." – CHOICE
