John Dupré
Template:Hangon John Dupré (* 1952) is a professor for philosophy and science theory at the University OF Exeter. There he is a director "centers for of the Genomics in Society". Duprés chief work area lies in the science theory of biology. _ Dupré together with Nancy Cartwright, Ian Hacking and Patrick Suppes the Stanford school in the theory add. This eint critical handling the reductionistic ideal of the unit science.
Pluralistische Metaphysik
Dupré opposes a pluralistische position to the reductionism of the classical science theory. The reductionism in the science theory is coined/shaped by the idea of the unit science. So the psychology is in principle on (neuro -) the biology, which biology to chemistry and chemistry can be reduced to physics. Since reduction relations is regarded as transitiv, in the long run everything is to be able to be to due to physics.
To this conception Dupré opposes its pluralismus. The single sciences can be reduced therefore not one on the other. And this is not at knowledge lacking, but because of the not reducible pluralistischen structure of the world.
Determinismus
A classical argument for the reductionism refers on the conception of causality. For each event there is thereafter a sufficient physical cause. If now the psychological or biological conditions are not reducible on the physical conditions and already did the physical conditions all causal work, then the psychological or biological conditions seem to be causally ineffective. In the philosophy of the spirit this problem under the name "mental causing" is discussed.
Dupré tries to escape this problem, by rejecting the Determinismus. It rejects the premise that there is a sufficient physical cause for each event. To the Determinismus Dupré opposes the conception of indeterministischer, probabilistic causality. These ideas are considerably affected of Nancy Cartwright; also the philosopher Karl Popper represents similar positions.
Kritische Philosophie der Biologie
Dupré is besides an important critic of biologistic research programs in the life sciences. The criticism refers in particular to the attempt, human acting to seize a thinking and a feeling by evolution-biological stories how it is tried approximately in the Soziobiologie and the evolutionary psychology. Dupré means that such projects must to remain necessarily highly speculative and reflect therefore often rather the prejudices of the researchers as circumstances in the world.
Another point of criticism Duprés concerns handling biological taxonomy. After Dupré the biological classifications are made by humans and are not only found in the world. They are open thus to the criticism and modification. This applies in particular also to the classifications of humans - for instance after race or sex.
Works
- Darwins legacy. The meaning of the evolution for the presence of humans ("Darwins Legacy"). Suhrkamp, Frankfurt/M. 2005, ISBN 3-518-58432-4
- The Disorder of Things. Metaphysical foundations of the disunity of science. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1993, ISBN 0-674-21260-6
- Human Nature and the Limits of Science. Clarendon Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-924806-0
- Humans and Other Animals. Clarendon Press, Oxford 2002, ISBN 0-19-924709-9
Weblinks
Kategorie:Hochschullehrer (Exeter)
Kategorie:Wissenschaftstheoretiker
Kategorie:Philosoph (20. Jahrhundert)
Kategorie:Geboren 1952
Kategorie:Mann