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  • Book
  • © 2001

Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics

Authors:

  1. Michael Esfeld

    1. University of Konstanz, Germany
      University of Hertfordshire, England

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Part of the book series: Synthese Library (SYLI, volume 298)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
    PDF

  3. Arguments for Holism about Beliefs

    • Michael Esfeld
    Pages 29-67

  4. From Social Holism to Holism about Beliefs

    • Michael Esfeld
    Pages 69-101

  5. Holism as Revision of the Cartesian Tradition

    • Michael Esfeld
    Pages 103-125

  6. Holism and the Relation between Mind and World

    • Michael Esfeld
    Pages 127-164

  8. The Basis for Holism in Quantum Physics

    • Michael Esfeld
    Pages 195-229

  9. The Meaning of Quantum Holism

    • Michael Esfeld
    Pages 231-272

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 321-370
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About this book

The Scope of the Project The concept of holism is at the centre of far-reaching changes in various areas of philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century. Holism in epistemology and the philosophy of mind is widespread among analytic philosophers subsequent to the work of the later Wittgenstein and to Quine's "Two Dogmas of Empiricism". Roughly speaking, the claim is that (a) for a person to have beliefs, a social, linguistic community is required and that (b) single beliefs have a meaning only within a whole system of beliefs. Furthermore, holism is discussed in science, in particular in the interpretation of quantum physics. In fact, the term "holism" goes back to Smuts (1926), who introduces this term in a biological context. I Holism in any of these areas has considerable consequences for our philosophical view of the world and ourselves. Holism in quantum physics is said to refute atomism, which has been predominant in modem philosophy of nature. Holism in epistemology and the philosophy of mind is seen as an alternative to what is known as the Cartesian tradition, which dominated modem thought down to logical empiricism.
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Keywords

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Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Konstanz, Germany

    Michael Esfeld

  • University of Hertfordshire, England

    Michael Esfeld

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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics

  • Authors: Michael Esfeld

  • Series Title: Synthese Library

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1787-8

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2001

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-7923-7003-1Published: 30 June 2001

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-90-481-5711-2Published: 06 December 2010

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-017-1787-8Published: 09 March 2013

  • Series ISSN: 0166-6991

  • Series E-ISSN: 2542-8292

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 370

  • Topics: Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Pragmatism, Philosophy, general

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Buy it now

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

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