Bunge M
Am J Physiol. 1977 Sep;233(3):R75-82. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.1977.233.3.R75.
This paper addresses the problem of reconciling pluralism with reductionism, i.e., acknowledging both the variety of the world and the need and possibility to explain it. First the various kinds of monism and pluralism that litter the scientific and philosophical literature are examined cursorily. Then certain maligned notions are examined, mainly those of novelty, self-assembly, level, and levels "hierarchy." They are shown to be amenable to analysis and even mathematization. Then the logic of reduction is analyzed. Two kinds of reduction are distinguished: full or straight, and partial or roundabout. And three stands on reduction are examined: anti-, radical, and moderate reductionism. The former is dismissed for being obscurantist and the second for being quixotic. Moderate reductionism, aiming at the (partial) reduction of higher levels to lower ones without skipping any intermediate levels, is adopted. Finally moderate reductionism is found to be consistent with a certain variety of pluralism, characterized as naturalistic.
本文探讨了调和多元论与还原论的问题，即既要承认世界的多样性，又要认识到解释世界的必要性和可能性。首先，我们简要考察了充斥于科学和哲学文献中的各种一元论和多元论。接着，我们审视了一些备受诋毁的概念，主要是新颖性、自组装、层次以及层次“等级体系”等概念。结果表明，这些概念经得起分析，甚至可以进行数学化处理。然后，我们分析了还原的逻辑。我们区分了两种还原：完全或直接还原，以及部分或间接还原。我们还考察了关于还原的三种立场：反还原论、激进还原论和温和还原论。前者因蒙昧主义而被摒弃，后者因不切实际而被否定。我们采纳了温和还原论，其目标是在不跳过任何中间层次的情况下，将较高层次（部分地）还原为较低层次。最后，我们发现温和还原论与一种特定的多元论相一致，这种多元论的特点是自然主义。
