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Full Description
Downward causation plays a fundamental role in many theories of metaphysics and philosophy of mind. It is strictly connected with many topics in philosophy, including but not limited to: emergence, mental causation, the nature of causation, the nature of causal powers and dispositions, laws of nature, and the possibility of ontological and epistemic reductions. Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives on Downward Causation brings together experts from different fields—including William Bechtel, Stewart Clark and Tom Lancaster, Carl Gillett, John Heil, Robin F. Hendry, Max Kistler, Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum —who delve into classic and unexplored lines of philosophical inquiry related to downward causation. It critically assesses the possibility of downward causation given different ontological assumptions and explores the connection between downward causation and the metaphysics of causation and dispositions. Finally, it presents different cases of downward causation in empirical fields such as physics, chemistry, biology and the neurosciences. This volume is both a useful introduction and a collection of original contributions on this fascinating and hotly debated philosophical topic.
Contents
Chapter 1: Downward Causation: an Opinionated Introduction
Michele Paolini Paoletti and Francesco Orilia
Part I: Downward Causation and the Metaphysics of Causation
Chapter 2: Three Grades of Downward Causation
Francesco Orilia and Michele Paolini Paoletti
Chapter 3: Downward Causation
John Heil
Chapter 4: Higher Level, Downward and Specific Causation
Max Kistler
Chapter 5: Powers and Downward Causation
Erasmus Mayr
Chapter 6: Emergence and Demergence
Rani Lill Anjum and Stephen Mumford
Chapter 7: Power Mereology, Structural Powers versus Substantial Powers
Anna Marmodoro
Part II: Downward Causation and the Sciences
Chapter 8: The Use of Downward Causation in Condensed Matter Physics
Stewart J. Clark and Tom Lancaster
Chapter 9: Prospects for Strong Emergence in Chemistry
Robin F. Hendry
Chapter 10: Causality and Levels of Explanation in Biology
Marta Bertolaso and Marco Buzzoni
Chapter 11: The Interlacing of Upward and Downward Causation in Complex Living Systems. On Interactions, Self-Organization, Emergency and Wholeness
Luciano Boi
Chapter 12: Top-Down Causation in Biology and Neuroscience: Control Hierarchies
William Bechtel
Chapter 13: Early Complexity in Human Development
François Jouen and Michèle Molina
Chapter 14: Scientific Emergentism and Its Move Beyond (Direct) Downward Causation
Carl Gillett
Part III: Downward Causation, Mind and Agency
Chapter 15: The Mental Causation Debate and Qua Problems
Sophie C. Gibb
Chapter 16: Agent-Causation - Neither Upward Nor Downward
Uwe Meixner
Chapter 17 The Compatibility of Downward Causation and Emergence
Simone Cozzano
Chapter 18: The Views on Mental Downward Causation
Mario De Caro and Matteo Grasso
