The Orders of Nature (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781438444154)

Reviving and modernizing the tradition of post Darwinian naturalism, The Orders of Nature draws on philosophy and the natural sciences to present a naturalistic theory of reality. Conceiving of nature as systems, processes, and structures that exhibit diverse properties that can be hierarchically arranged, Lawrence Cahoone sketches a systematic metaphysics based on the following orders of nature: physical, material, biological, mental, and cultural. Using recent work in the science of complexity, hierarchical systems theory, and nonfoundational approaches to metaphysics, Cahoone analyzes these orders with explanations of the underlying science, covering a range of topics that includes general relativity and quantum field theory; chemistry and inorganic complexity; biology and telenomic explanation, or "purpose"; the theory of mind and mental causation as an animal phenomenon; and the human mind's unique cultural abilities. The book concludes with an exploration of what answers such a theory of naturalism can provide to questions about values and God.

Author: Lawrence Cahoone
ISBN-10: 143844415X
ISBN-13: 9781438444154
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Language: English
Published: 01/01/2013
Pages: 375
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 08/01/2013