Mechanisms in philosophy of biology/
philosophy of sience



W. Wimsatt 1972:
Complexity and Organization, in K.F. Schaffner and R.S. Cohen (eds): PSA 1972,
Proceedings of the Philosophy of Science Accosication, Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 67-86.

"At least in biology, most scientists see their work as explaining types of phenomena by dicovering mechanisms.."
an "…undefined primitive",  "unanalyzed term"



Stuart S. Glennan 1992, 1996:
Mechanisms, Models and Causation, PhD Dissertation, Chicago, Ill.;
Mechanisms and the Nature of Causation, Erkenntnis 44, 49-71.

"A mechanism underlying a behavior is a complex system which produces that behavior by…
the interaction of a number of parts according to direct causal laws."



Lindley Darden 1998:
Machamer-Darden-Craver: Thinking about Mechanisms, manuscript

"Descriptions of mechanisms begin with idealized descriptions of the start or set-up conditions [and]
end with descriptions of finish or termination conditions."

"A mechanism is the series of activities that bring about the finish or termination conditions."