Levels of Scientific Understanding

科学理解的水平

• 批准号: 9311982
• 负责人: Paul Humphreys
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: University of Virginia Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1993
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1993-07-15 至 1994-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9311982&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Levels; Scientific; Understanding

9311982 Humphreys The "received view" of how scientific theories in different domains are related to each other has been, for a number of years, a hierarchical model. At the base is physics, or elementary particle physics to be more precise. Particle physics is taken as the most fundamental of all sciences. Then come, in order, chemistry molecular biology, general biology, psychology, and the social sciences. Much work in the philosophy of science has been devoted to the relationship between adjacent levels within this science. Dr. Humphreys, in this project, is attempting to answer concerns about the inter-level relationship of properties. An example of major concern for philosophy and psychology has been the relation between psychological or computational properties and their underlying neurobiological/physical properties. Issues concerning the mind/body problem and the status of cognitive science depend directly on how this general question is answered. Dr. Humphreys is specifically addressing a new way to characterize the distinction between "emergent" and "nonemergent" properties. How, for example, can the mind "emerge" from the properties of the neurons that make up the brain? How does thought and memory come out of the chemical and electrical interactions that occur in this physical organ? The crucial point in looking at these relations is that the causal properties that the psychologist deals with (thoughts, emotions, memories) do not exist at the neurobiology level and only "emerge" at the level of psychology. The main focus of this research is the proper way to construe these emergent properties, with the distinction between internal and external relations as the guide to a correct treatment. Dr. Humphreys is using these investigations to extend existing accounts of scientific explanation to include emergent properties. ***

9311982 Humphreys关于不同领域的科学理论如何相互关联的“公认观点”，多年来一直是一个分层模型。 基础是物理学，或者更准确地说是基本粒子物理学。 粒子物理学被认为是所有科学中最基本的。 然后依次是化学、分子生物学、普通生物学、心理学和社会科学。 科学哲学中的许多工作都致力于研究这门科学中相邻层次之间的关系。 在这个项目中，汉弗莱斯博士试图回答人们对属性之间层次关系的担忧。 哲学和心理学主要关注的一个例子是心理或计算属性与其潜在的神经生物学/物理属性之间的关系。 关于心灵/身体问题和认知科学的地位的问题直接取决于如何回答这个一般问题。 Humphreys博士特别提出了一种新的方法来描述“涌现”和“非涌现”属性之间的区别。 例如，心智是如何从构成大脑的神经元的特性中“浮现”出来的？ 思维和记忆是如何从这个物理器官中发生的化学和电的相互作用中产生的？ 研究这些关系的关键点在于，心理学家所处理的因果属性（思想、情感、记忆）并不存在于神经生物学层面，而只在心理学层面“出现”。 本研究的主要焦点是如何正确处理这些涌现的特性，并以内部和外部关系的区分作为正确处理的指导。 汉弗莱斯博士正在利用这些调查来扩展现有的科学解释，以包括紧急性质。 ***