The Limitations of Hierarchical Organization.
The concept of levels of organization is prominent in science and central to a variety of debates in philosophy of science. Yet many difficulties plague the concept of universal and discrete hierarchical levels, and these undermine implications commonly ascribed to hierarchical organization. We sugg...
| Publicado en: | Philosophy of Science Vol. 79; no. 1; pp. 120 - 141 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Cambridge University Press
Jan2012
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | The concept of levels of organization is prominent in science and central to a variety of debates in philosophy of science. Yet many difficulties plague the concept of universal and discrete hierarchical levels, and these undermine implications commonly ascribed to hierarchical organization. We suggest the concept of scale as a promising alternative. Investigating causal processes at different scales allows for a notion of quasi levels that avoids the difficulties inherent in the classic concept of levels. Our primary focus is ecology, but we suggest how the results generalize to other invocations of hierarchy in science and philosophy of science. |
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