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The Lure of the Simplistic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

John Dupré
John Dupré*
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
*
Send requests for reprints to the author, Department of Sociology, University of Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK; [email protected].
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Abstract

This paper attacks the perennial philosophical and scientific quest for a simple and unified vision of the world. Without denying the attraction of this vision, I argue that such a goal often seriously distorts our understanding of complex phenomena. The argument is illustrated with reference to simplistic attempts to provide extremely general views of biology, and especially of human nature, through the theory of evolution. Although that theory is a fundamental ingredient of our scientific world view, it provides only one of a number of perspectives that are required for an understanding of biology in general, and human behaviour in paticular. The argument is connected to the replacement of views of science in terms of universal laws with views that emphasise ranges of models more locally suited to specific phenomena.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 69 , Issue S3 , September 2002 , pp. S284 - S293
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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