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Holism and the Problem of Ontological Reductions

The idea of holism that accounts for ontological reduction in terms of theory reduction is this If a reduces to b expresses a truth, then it does so because a is relevantly related to a theory t and b is relevantly related to a theory t, and t reduces to t. I will now argue that for a term a to be relevantly related to a theory is for it to have specific semantic properties other than reference (namely, those that are relevant for reduction as construed above), that are relevantly related to t. Thus, it follows that those who embrace this form of holism are committed to the assumption that the relevant semantic facts play a crucial role in reduction-statements. Since the accounts of theory reduction we are familiar with are, on the identity reading, also committed to the tmth of the corresponding metaphysical claims (those expressed by or rendering tme bridge-laws, or statements about analog relations or isomorphisms), holism based on these accounts does not come cheaper than the account presented above. [Pg.194]

Here is a test We evaluate a complex holistic reduction-statement and check whether or not we can change meaning (the relevant semantic facts) while preserving spelling and reference salva veritate. Thus, we keep the relevant expression stable, and we keep the referent of the expression that is supposed to be relevantly related to the reducing or reduced theory stable, and vary meaning of this expression. [Pg.194]

To see this, consider the expression ferrum . Insofar as the term expresses the concept it expressed in ordinary language Latin, it is relevantly related to what was folk chemistry back then. Insofar as the term expresses the concept it expresses in current chemistry, also captured by Fe , it is relevantly related to current chemistry. Reference or designation is, or so we shall assume, the same in both uses, just like spelling. [Pg.195]

These cases are rare because, fortunately, semantic differences between ordinary language expressions and their allegedly co-referential counterparts in science are usually made transparent by lexical differences. The tmth of sentences of the form a is relevantly related to theory t , when used to capture the relevant relation between an expression, such as water , and the corresponding theory, such as our folk-theory of water, depend upon facts about the meaning of what takes the position of a . Therefore, any holistic approach to reduction, which has to rely on an expression s being relevantly related to a theory, has to account for the relevant semantic features of the candidate-expressions. [Pg.195]

holism is as expensive as the non-holistic account offered here. Taking into account that at least in the philosophy of mind, there is an established use of [Pg.195]


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