The Devil in the Details: Asymptotic Reasoning in Explanation, Reduction, and Emergence

by Robert W. Batterman

Overview

Robert Batterman examines a form of scientific reasoning called asymptotic reasoning, arguing that it has important consequences for our understanding of the scientific process as a whole. He maintains that asymptotic reasoning is essential for explaining what physicists call universal behavior. With clarity and rigor, he simplifies complex questions about universal behavior, demonstrating a profound understanding of the underlying structures that ground them. This book introduces a valuable new method that is certain to fill explanatory gaps across disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195146479
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/29/2001
Series:	Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Science
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

University of Western Ontario

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Asymptotic Reasoning3. Philosophical Theories of Explanation4. Asymptotic Explanation5. Philosophical Models of Reduction6. Intertheoretic Relations - Optics7. Intertheoretic Relations - Mechanics8. Emergence9. ConclusionBibliographyIndex