Individuation, Process, and Scientific Practices

Description

What things count as individuals, and how do we individuate them? It is a classic philosophical question often tackled from the perspective of analytic metaphysics. This volume proposes that there is another channel by which to approach individuation ― from that of scientific practices. From this perspective, the question then becomes: How do scientists individuate things and, therefore, count them as individuals? This volume collects the work of philosophers of science to engage with this central philosophical conundrum from a new angle, highlighting the crucial topic of experimental individuation and building upon recent, pioneering work in the philosophy of science. An introductory chapter foregrounds the problem of individuation, arguing it should be considered prior to the topic of individuality. The following chapters address individuation and individuality from a variety of perspectives, with prominent themes being the importance of experimentation, individuation as a process, and pluralism in individuation's criteria. Contributions examine individuation in a wide range of sciences, including stem cell biology, particle physics, and community ecology. Other chapters examine the metaphysics of individuation, its bearing on realism/antirealism debates, and interrogate epistemic aspects of individuation in scientific practice. In exploring individuation from the philosophy of biology, physics, and other scientific subjects, this volume ultimately argues for the possibility of several criteria of individuation, upending the tenets of traditional metaphysics. It provides insights for philosophers of science, but also for scientists interested in the conceptual foundations of their work. Cover Individuation, Process, and Scientific Practices Copyright Contents Acknowledgments List of Contributors 1 Individuation, Process, and Scientific Practices Part I Aspects of Individuation: Metaphysical and Processual 2 Processes, Organisms, Kinds, and the Inevitability of Pluralism 3 Individuating Processes 4 Individuating Part–​Whole Relations in the Biological World Part II Experimental Practices of Individuation 5 Ask Not “What Is an Individual?” 6 Individuality, Organisms, and Cell Differentiation 7 Individuation of Developmental Systems: A Reproducer Perspective 8 Individuation, Individuality, and Experimental Practice in Developmental Biology 9 Experimental Individuation: Creation and Presentation 10 Emergent Quasiparticles: Or, How to Get a Rich Physics from a Sober Metaphysics Part III Individuation in Philosophical Approaches to Science: Realism, Anti-​Realism, Environmentalism 11 Can Quantum Objects Be Tracked? 12 Retail Realism, the Individuation of Theoretical Entities, and the Case of the Muriatic Radical 13 Is Aldo Leopold’s “Land Community” an Individual? Index