Perspectives on Natural Philosophy

Philosophies

Salthe, Stanley N.¹ 

[1] Biological Sciences Department, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA

关键词: compositional hierarchy;    development;    dissipative structures;    final cause;    internalism;    Second Law of thermodynamics;    subsumptive hierarchy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/philosophies3030023

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

This paper presents a viewpoint on natural philosophy focusing on the organization of substance, as well as its changes as invited by the Second Law of thermodynamics. Modes of change are pointed to as definitive of levels of organization; these include physical, chemical, and biological modes of change. Conceptual uses of the subsumptive hierarchy format are employed throughout this paper. Developmental change in dissipative structures is examined in some detail, generating an argument for the use of final causality in studies of natural systems. Considerations of ‘internalism’ in science are presented along the way.

【 授权许可】

CC BY