Holism and Reductionism in Biology and Ecology

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XXI

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2. Reduction and Co-Operation in Biology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Holism and Reductionism

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 3-24

   3. Reduction of Laws and Theories

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 25-41

   4. Reduction of Concepts

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 43-61

   5. Emergence, Reduction and Co-Operating Research Programmes

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 63-84

   6. Co-Operating Research Programmes: Reduction of the Bohr Effect

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 85-105

   7. Functional Explanations in Biology

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 107-136

3. Reduction and Co-Operation in Ecology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 137-137

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   2. The Reduction Problem in Ecology

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 139-158

   3. Ecological Communities: Conceptual Problems and Definition

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 159-192

   4. The Distinction Between Habitat and Niche

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 193-219

   5. The Reduction of the Lotka/Volterra Competition Model to Modern Niche Theory

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 221-251

   6. Co-Operation in Island Biogeography

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 253-267

   7. The Inhibitory Effect of the Holism-Reductionism Dispute: A Controversy in Island Biogeography and its Solution

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 269-299

4. Epilogue

   1. Epilogue

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 301-306

5. Erratum

   1. Erratum

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 351-351

   2. Erratum to: The Reduction of the Lotka/Volterra Competition Model to Modern Niche Theory

      • Rick C. Looijen

      Pages 351-351

6. Back Matter

   Pages 307-350

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Holism and reductionism are traditionally seen as incompatible views or approaches to nature. Here Looijen argues that they should rather be seen as mutually dependent and hence co-operating research programmes. He sheds some interesting new light on the emergence thesis, its relation to the reduction thesis, and on the role and status of functional explanations in biology. He discusses several examples of reduction in both biology and ecology, showing the mutual dependence of holistic and reductionist research programmes. Ecologists are offered separate chapters, clarifying some major, yet highly and controversial ecological concepts, such as `community', `habitat', and `niche'. The book is the first in-depth study of the philosophy of ecology.
Readership: Specialists in the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology, biologists and ecologists interested in the philosophy of their discipline. Also of interest to other scientists concerned with the holism-reductionism issue.

• Seen
• biogeography
• biology
• ecology
• philosophy
• philosophy of biology
• philosophy of science
• reduction
• science

• Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

  Rick C. Looijen

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