Lexicon of Arguments

 

I 99
Biology: Questions: e.g. unique events: "Why are there no hummingbirds in the old world"? E.g. "Where did Homo sapiens begin?" This leads to historical representation as the only possible form.
This approach is fundamentally different from the explanation by means of causal laws. One can never categorically prove that a historical representation is "true".
>Single-case causation, >Causality, >Causal explanation, >History,
>Historiography.
I 100
Reproducibility/Science: the uniqueness is not reserved for the living nature! E.g. each of the nine planets is unique. Every mountain range and stream has unique features on the earth.
Hume/Science: cannot say anything satisfying about the cause of any unique phenomenon.
>Causes, >Effect, >Causality/Hume.
MayrVsHume: the historical representation can often explain unique events satisfactorily and sometimes even make verifiable predictions.
>History/Mayr).
I 101
History/Causation/Mayr: earlier events usually contribute causally to later ones. "Particularistic causality".
I 103
Biology/explanation/Mayr: here we often find more than a causal explanation. Perhaps one has to explain most of the phenomena of biology even with several theories! A theory of science that cannot cope with pluralism is unsuitable for biology.
>Theories.
I 166
Explanation/biology: by direct causes: molecular biology, functional morphology, developmental biology, physiological genetics
Indirect: evolutionary biology, classical genetics, ethology, systematics, comparative morphology, ecology.
Problem: separation of morphology and genetics. Overlaps.