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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophy of science 2012-01, Vol.79 (1), p.120-140
Main Authors: Potochnik, Angela, McGill, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Causality
Conceptual hierarchies
Ecology
Ecosystems
Epistemology. Philosophy of science. Theory of knowledge
Hierarchies
Hierarchy
Mereology
Molecules
Organization
Philosophy
Philosophy of science
Physical theory
Population ecology
Science
Squirrels
Supervenience
Synecology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:0031-8248
1539-767X
DOI:10.1086/663237