Structuralism

Content Description #Includes bibliographical references and index.

Content Description #Includes bibliographical references and index.

The use of the word 'structuralism', not only as a title for the present book but also as a valuable indication for outstanding philosophical and cultural developments of our century, may embarrass the English reader. The same might be the case regarding some of the philosophical thoughts developed in connexion with this structuralism. Emphasis is namely not on a set of technical operations using ideas and conceptions closely linked up with 'structural' or 'systematical' analyses, system and in formation theories, biology, psychology and even literary criticism. On the contrary, the concept of structuralism here defmitely refers to a holistic approach, not unlike existentialism or phenomenology. Many philosophical implications of this structuralism are however quite different from those contained in existential philosophies. The first difference applies to philosophy itself: no existential thinker will doubt or deny that the thoughts developed are genuine philoso phical thoughts. Structuralism however does not take that decision before hand, and thus no longer restricts itself to the traditionallaws and habits of philosophical reasoning. It presents itself on the one hand as a holistic attempt to interpret reality among lines of philosophical argumentation, bu t tries to do so without the decision that this argumentation leads to philoso phy. Structuralism therefore presents itself as a specific activity, a modus operandi in reality itself.

This book is devoted to an analysis of the way that structures must enter into a serious study of any subject, and the term ?structuralism? refers to the general method of approaching a subject from the viewpoint of structure. A proper appreciation of this approach requires a deeper understanding of the concept of structure than is provided by the simple intuitive notion of structures that everyone posseses to some degree. Therefore, a large part of the discussion is devoted directly or indirectly to a study of the nature of structures themselves. A formal definition of a structure, plus some basic general properties and examples, is given early in the discussion. Also, in order to clarify the general notions and to see how they are used, the later chapters are devoted to an examination of how structures enter into some special fields, including linguistics, mental phenomena, mathematics (and its applications), and biology (especially in the theory of evolution). Because the author is a mathematician, certain mathematical ideas have influenced greatly the choice and approach to the material covered. In general, however, the mathematical influence is not on a technical level and is often only implicit. Even the chapter on mathematical structures is nontechnical and is about rather than on mathematics. Only in the last chapter and earlier in three short sections does one find any of the expected ?formal? mathematics. In other words, the great bulk of the material is accessible to someone without a mathematical background.

Recently there has been a revival of interest in structuralist approaches to science. Taking their lead from scientific structuralists such as Henri Poincaré, Ernst Cassirer, and Bertrand Russell, some contemporary philosophers and scientists have argued that the most fruitful approach to solving many problems in the philosophy of science lies in focusing on the structural features of our scientific theories. Much of the work in scientific structuralism to date has been focused on the problem of scientific realism, where it has been argued that even in cases of radical theory change the most important structural features of predecessor theories are preserved. These structural realists argue that what our most successful theories get right about the world is these abstract structural features, rather than any particular ontological claims. More recently, philosophers of science have adopted structuralist approaches to many other issues in the philosophy of science, such as scientific explanation and intertheory relations. The nine articles collected in this volume, written by the leading researchers in scientific structuralism, represent some of the most important directions of research in this field. This book will be of particular interest to those philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians who are interested in the foundations of science.

No detailed description available for "American Structuralism".

This book argues that the debates about the appropriate economic policies to follow in the developing world within the field of development economics are at heart debates about the appropriate ontology to ascribe to agents within the developing world.

A distinct and original post-structuralist approach to Marx, allowing him to be read in a new light.