Black Boxes

Marco J. Nathan is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Denver. His research focuses on the philosophy of science, with particular emphasis on biology, neuroscience, cognitive neuropsychology, and economics. He has published numerous articles and chapters in philosophical and scientific venues.

Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Bricks and Boxes
1.1 The Wall
1.2 A Theory of Everything?
1.3 Pandora's Gift to Science: The Black Box
1.4 Structure and Synopsis
1.5 Aim and Scope
Chapter 2: Between Scylla and Charybdis
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Rock Shoal and the Whirlpool
2.3 The Rise and Fall of Classical Reductionism
2.4 Antireductionism Strikes Back
2.5 The Reductionists Return
2.6 Scylla or Charybdis?
2.7 Why Not Have the Cake and Eat It Too?
Chapter 3: Lessons from the History of Science
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Darwin's Quest for Inheritance and Variation
3.3 Mendel's Missing Mechanisms: A Tale of Two Syntheses
3.4 Absent Minded: Psychological Behaviors
3.5 The Nature and Significance of Economics
3.6 The Many Faces of Black Boxes
Chapter 4: Placeholders
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Two Theses About Fitness
4.3 Are Dispositions Explanatory?
4.4 Placeholders in Scientific Theory and Practice
4.5 Two Types of Placeholders
Chapter 5: Black-Boxing 101
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Step One: The Framing Stage
5.3 Step Two: The Difference-Making Stage
5.4 Step Three: The Representation Stage
5.5 What is a Black Box? A Three-Part Recipe
Chapter 6: History of Science 'Black-Boxing Style'
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Darwin's Black Boxes
6.3 Mendel's Black Boxes
6.4 Skinner's Black Boxes
6.5 Friedman's Black Boxes
6.6 Black Boxes in Science: Concluding Remarks
Chapter 7: Diet Mechanistic Philosophy
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The New Mechanistic Philosophy
7.3 Three Steps: A Neo-Mechanistic Perspective
7.4 Mechanisms, Models, and Metaphysics
7.5 Mechanisms and Black Boxes
7.6 What's in a Mechanism?
7.7 The Diet Recipe: Concluding Remarks
Chapter 8: Emergence Reframed
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Emergence: Metaphysical or Epistemic?
8.3 Emergence in Action: Systems Neuroscience
8.4 Emergents and Black Boxes
8.5 Refinements and Implications
8.6 Adequacy Conditions and Advantages
8.7 Concluding Remarks
Chapter 9: The Fuel of Scientific Progress
9.1 Introduction
9.2 The Roots of Incommensurability
9.3 Referential Models and Incommensurability
9.4 Black Boxes and Reference Potential, Part I
9.5 Black Boxes and Reference Potential, Part II
9.6 Incommensurability, Progress, and Black Boxes: Concluding Remarks
Chapter 10: Sailing Through the Strait
10.1 Back to Bricks and Boxes
10.2 The Quagmire
10.3 Rocking the Rock, Weathering the Whirlpool
10.4 A History of Black Boxes
10.5 The Devil in the Details?
References