Special sciences are those sciences other than
fundamental physics. In this view,
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
biology, and
neuroscience—indeed, all sciences except fundamental physics—are special sciences. The status of the special sciences, and their relation to physics, is unresolved in the
philosophy of science.
Jerry Fodor, for instance, has argued for ''strong autonomy'', concluding that the special sciences are not even in principle reducible to physics.
As such Fodor has often been credited for having helped turn the tide against
reductionist physicalism.
[Kim Jaegwon (2005). Physicalism, or something near enough, Princeton University Press, p.95]
See also
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Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors that emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole.
Emergence ...
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Emergentism
In philosophy, emergentism is the belief in emergence, particularly as it involves consciousness and the philosophy of mind. A property of a system is said to be emergent if it is a new outcome of some other properties of the system and their int ...
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Multiple realizability
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Physics
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Reductionism
Reductionism is any of several related philosophical ideas regarding the associations between phenomena which can be described in terms of other simpler or more fundamental phenomena. It is also described as an intellectual and philosophical pos ...
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Supervenience
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The central science
Chemistry is often called the central science because of its role in connecting the physical sciences, which include chemistry, with the life sciences and applied sciences such as medicine and engineering. The nature of this relationship is one o ...
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Unity of science
References
Philosophy of science
Reductionism
Emergence
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