Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Mohammad Mehdi Hatami ¹
• reza sadeqi ²

¹ PhD student, Department of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Isfahan

² Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Isfahan

Abstract

This article investigates and evaluates models of the unity of science in 20^th century. In general, the models of unity of science could be divided into two parts and investigated separately. The first group are models which defend reductionism and eliminativism by relying on physicalism. The second group are the ones that by relying on methodology try to guarantee the unity of science. In evaluating the first group on the works of Thomas Nagle and William James it is argued that these models not adjusted to different ontological fields. The various methods of scientific research and different function of the values of preferring a theory in different contexts of comparison also undermine the claim of scientific unity in the second group models. Anyway, for avoiding the harmful result of the being incommensurable, relying on holism the possibility of giving a model of the unity of science could be defended which has provided possibility of interdisciplinary cooperation and defies any attempt for reductionism or ignorance of the plurality of methods.

Keywords

• unity of science
• physicalism
• reductionism
• eliminativism
• contextualism
• pluralism
• interdisciplinary cooperation