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Teleology Redux

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Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science ((BSPS,volume 67))

Abstract

Although Mario Bunge is best known as a philosopher of physics — and deservedly so — he has in fact turned his keen attention to just about every other area of science. Truly he might be called the twentieth-century’s answer to William Whewell!1And like Whewell, Bunge has considered the biological sciences, and has things of interest to say about them. I think it is fair to conclude that, generally speaking, Bunge and I agree about biology. We are both suspicious of attempts to put biology apart from the physical sciences. In particular we both think that some sort of axiomatic or hypothetico-deductive ideal is appropriate in the biological sciences as well as in physics and chemistry [Bunge 1967; Ruse 1973].

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© 1981 D. Reidel Publishing Company

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Ruse, M. (1981). Teleology Redux. In: Agassi, J., Cohen, R.S. (eds) Scientific Philosophy Today. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 67. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8462-2_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8462-2_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-277-1263-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-8462-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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