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{{shortShort description|theoryTheory in the philosophy of science}}

The '''unity of science''' is a thesis in [[philosophy of science]] that says that all the [[sciences]] form a unified whole. The variants of the thesis can be classified as [[ontological]] (giving a unified account of the structure of reality) and/or as [[epistemic]]/pragmatic (giving a unified account of how the activities and products of science work).{{sfn|Tahko|2021|p=4}} There are also philosophers who emphasize the '''disunity of science''', which does not necessarily imply that there could be no unity in some sense but does emphasize [[Pluralism (philosophy)|pluralism]] in the ontology and/or practice of science.{{sfn|Tahko|2021|p=4}}

{{more citations needed|date=March 2016}}

The '''unity of science''' is a thesis in [[philosophy of science]] that says that all the sciences form a unified whole.

Early versions of the unity of science thesis can be found in [[ancient Greek philosophers]] such as [[Aristotle]],{{sfn|Cat|2017}}{{sfn|Wilson|2000}} and in the later history of [[Western philosophy]].{{sfn|Cat|2017}} For example, in the first half of the 20th century the thesis was associated with the unity of science movement led by [[Otto Neurath]],{{sfn|Symons|Pombo|Torres|2011}} and in the second half of the century the thesis was advocated by [[Ludwig von Bertalanffy]] in "General System Theory: A New Approach to Unity of Science" (1951){{sfn|Symons|Pombo|Torres|2011}}{{sfn|Bertalanffy|1951}} and by [[Paul Oppenheim]] and [[Hilary Putnam]] in "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis" (1958).{{sfn|Cat|2017}}{{sfn|Oppenheim|Putnam|1958}} It has been opposed by, for example, [[Jerry Fodor]] in "Special Sciences (Or: The Disunity of Science as a Working Hypothesis)" (1974),{{sfn|Cat|2017}}{{sfn|Fodor|1974}} by [[Paul Feyerabend]] in ''Against Method'' (1975) and later works,{{sfn|Cat|2017}}<ref>{{harvnb|Feyerabend|1993}}; {{harvnb|Feyerabend|2011}}.</ref> by [[John Dupré]] in "The Disunity of Science" (1983) and ''The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science'' (1993),{{sfn|Cat|2017}}<ref>{{harvnb|Dupré|1983}}; {{harvnb|Dupré|1993}}.</ref> by [[Nancy Cartwright (philosopher)|Nancy Cartwright]] in ''The Dappled World: A Study of the Boundaries of Science'' (1999) and other works,{{sfn|Cat|2017}}{{sfn|Cartwright|1999}} and by [[Evelyn Fox Keller]] in ''Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with Models, Metaphors, and Machines'' (2002) and other works.<ref>{{harvnb|Ludwig|Ruphy|2021}}; {{harvnb|Keller|2002}}.</ref>

==Overview==

Even though, for example, [[physics]] and [[sociology]] are distinct disciplines, the thesis of the unity of science says that in principle they must be part of a unified intellectual endeavor: science. The unity of science thesis is often associated with a framework of levels of organization in nature, where physics is the most basic, [[chemistry]] the level above physics, [[biology]] above chemistry, sociology above biology, and so forth. Further, [[Cell (biology)|cells]], [[organism]]s, and [[culture]]s are all biological{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}, but they represent three different levels of biological organization.

It[[Jean has also beenPiaget]] suggested (for example, in [[Jean Piaget]]'shis 1918 workbook ''Recherche''){{sfn|Piaget|1918}} and later works, that the unity of science can be considered in terms of a circle of the sciences, where logic is the foundation for mathematics, which is the foundation for mechanics and physics, and physics is the foundation for chemistry, which is the foundation for biology, which is the foundation for sociology, the moral sciences, psychology, and the theory of knowledge, and the theory of knowledge isforms baseda onbasis for logic.<ref>, completing the circle,{{Citesfn|Braun|Baribeau|1984}} without implying that any science could be [[Greedy webreductionism|website=www.fondationjeanpiagetreduced]] to any other.ch{{sfn|title=RechercheKitchener|last1981}} More recently, many [[complex system]]s are considered to be [[transdisciplinary]]<ref name=Piagettrans/> objects of study.{{sfn|first=JeanCat|author-link=Jean Piaget2017}}{{sfn|date=2006Bunge|orig-year=19182003|access-datepp=94, February250}} Such systems can be modeled as having [[emergent properties]] at different [[levels of organization]], which do not neatly correspond to separate disciplines such as physics or biology,{{sfn|Cat|2017}} and which cannot be adequately modeled using a philosophy of extreme [[reductionism]] ("everything comes from the bottom", which does not fully account for emergent properties) or extreme [[holism]] ("everything comes from the top", which does not fully account for systems' components and interactions).{{sfn|urlBunge|2003|p=http://www.fondationjeanpiaget.ch/fjp/site/textes/VE/JP_18_Recherche.pdf40}}{{sfn|O'Connor|2020}}</ref>

The unity of science thesis is famously clarified and tentatively argued for by [[Ludwig von Bertalanffy]] in "General System Theory: A New Approach to Unity of Science" (1951) and by [[Paul Oppenheim]] and [[Hilary Putnam]] in "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis" (1958). It is famously argued against by [[Jerry Fodor]] in "Special Sciences (Or: The Disunity of Science as a Working Hypothesis)" (1974), by [[Paul Feyerabend]] in ''Against Method'' (1975) and later works, and by [[John Dupré]] in "The Disunity of Science" (1983) and ''The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science'' (1993).

==See also==

{{Div col}}

* [[Consilience]]

* [[Hierarchy of sciences]]

* [[International Encyclopedia of Unified Science]]

* [[Logical positivism]]

* [[Scientific pluralism]]

* [[Special sciences]]

* [[Stanford School]]

* [[Systems theory]]

* [[Tektology]]

* [[The central science]]

* [[Theory of everything]]

* [[Unified Science]]

{{Div col end}}

==Notes==

{{reflist|20em|refs=

<ref name=trans>{{harvnb|Nicolescu|2002|p=1}}: "The term {{em|transdisciplinary}} first appeared three decades ago in the works of such varied scholars as [[Jean Piaget]], [[Edgar Morin]], and [[Erich Jantsch]]."</ref>

}}

==References==

{{Reflistrefbegin}}

* {{cite journal |last=Bertalanffy |first=Ludwig von |author-link=Ludwig von Bertalanffy |date=December 1951 |title=General system theory: a new approach to unity of science: 1. Problems of general system theory |journal=[[Human Biology (journal)|Human Biology]] |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=302–312 |jstor=41448003 |pmid=14907026 }} Bertallanfy's article was part of a section that also included, in response, [[Carl G. Hempel]]'s "General system theory and the unity of science" (pp.&nbsp;313–322), Robert E. Bass's "Unity of nature" (pp.&nbsp;323–327), and [[Hans Jonas]]'s "Comment on general system theory" (pp.&nbsp;328–335).

* {{cite book |editor1-last=Boyd |editor1-first=Richard |editor1-link=Richard Boyd |editor2-last=Gasper |editor2-first=Philip |editor3-last=Trout |editor3-first=J. D. |editor3-link=J. D. Trout |date=1991 |title=The philosophy of science |series=A Bradford book |___location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=0262023156 |oclc=22597466 |url=https://archive.org/details/philosophyofscie0000unse_u7z8 |url-access=registration }}

* {{cite journal |last1=Braun |first1=Claude M. J. |last2=Baribeau |first2=Jacinthe M. C. |date=Summer 1984 |title=The classification of psychology among the sciences from Francis Bacon to Boniface Kedrov |journal=[[Journal of Mind and Behavior]] |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=245–259 (252–254) |jstor=43853037 |url=https://www.academia.edu/27010916 }}

* {{cite book |last=Bunge |first=Mario |author-link=Mario Bunge |date=2003 |title=Emergence and convergence: qualitative novelty and the unity of knowledge |series=Toronto studies in philosophy |___location=Toronto |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |isbn=0802088600 |oclc=52411064 |doi=10.3138/9781442674356 |url=https://archive.org/details/emergenceconverg0000bung |url-access=registration }}

* {{cite book |last=Cartwright |first=Nancy |author-link=Nancy Cartwright |date=1999 | title=The dappled world: a study of the boundaries of science |___location=New York |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-64336-8 |oclc=40305531 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139167093}}

* {{cite SEP |last=Cat |first=Jordi |date=2017 |url-id=scientific-unity |title=The unity of science |date=2017 |edition=Fall 2017 |last=Cat |first=Jordi |ref=harv}}

* {{cite journal |last=Dupré |first=John |author-link=John Dupré |date=July 1983 |title=The disunity of science |journal=[[Mind (journal)|Mind]] |volume=92 |issue=367 |pages=321–346 |jstor=2253810 |doi=10.1093/mind/XCII.367.321|doi-access=free }}

* {{cite book |last=Dupré |first=John |date=1993 |title=The disorder of things: metaphysical foundations of the disunity of science |___location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=0674212606 |oclc=25746325 |url=https://archive.org/details/disorderofthings0000dupr |url-access=registration }}

* {{cite book |last=Feyerabend |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Feyerabend |date=1993 |orig-year=1974 |title=Against method |edition=3rd |___location=London; New York |publisher=[[Verso Books|Verso]] |isbn=086091481X |oclc=29026104 |url=https://archive.org/details/againstmethod0000feye |url-access=registration }}

* {{cite book |last=Feyerabend |first=Paul |date=2011 |chapter=The disunity of science |title=The tyranny of science |___location=Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA |publisher=[[Polity Press]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/tyrannyofscience0000feye/page/32 32–63] |isbn=978-0745651897 |oclc=668946683 |url=https://archive.org/details/tyrannyofscience0000feye |url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/tyrannyofscience0000feye/page/32 |chapter-url-access=registration }}

* {{cite journal |last=Fodor |first=Jerry A. |author-link=Jerry Fodor |date=October 1974 |title=Special sciences (or: The disunity of science as a working hypothesis) |journal=[[Synthese]] |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=97–115 |doi=10.1007/BF00485230 |jstor=20114958 |s2cid=46979938 |url=https://philarchive.org/rec/FODSSO-2 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Reprinted in {{harvnb|Boyd|Gasper|Trout|1991}}.

* {{cite book |last=Keller |first=Evelyn Fox |author-link=Evelyn Fox Keller |date=2002 |title=Making sense of life: explaining biological development with models, metaphors, and machines |___location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00746-8 |oclc=48100379 |jstor=j.ctvjz82ht |url=https://archive.org/details/makingsenseoflif00kell |url-access=registration }}

* {{cite journal |last=Kitchener |first=Richard F. |date=September 1981 |title=The nature and scope of genetic epistemology |journal=[[Philosophy of Science (journal)|Philosophy of Science]] |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=400–415 (413) |jstor=186987 |doi=10.1086/289007 |s2cid=144785292 |quote=Nowhere does Piaget suggest that sociology can be reduced to psychology, but instead refers to 'psycho-sociology'.}}

* {{cite SEP |last=Ludwig |first=David |last2=Ruphy |first2=Stéphanie |date=2021 |url-id=scientific-pluralism |title=Scientific pluralism |edition=Fall 2024}}

* {{cite book |last=Nicolescu |first=Basarab |author-link=Basarab Nicolescu |date=2002 |title=Manifesto of transdisciplinarity |___location=Albany |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |isbn=0791452611 |oclc=46872261 |url=https://archive.org/details/manifestooftrans0000nico |url-access=registration }}

* {{cite SEP |last=O'Connor |first=Timothy |date=2020 |url-id=properties-emergent |title=Emergent properties |edition=Winter 2021}}

* {{cite book |last1=Oppenheim |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Oppenheim |last2=Putnam |first2=Hilary |author-link2=Hilary Putnam |date=1958 |chapter=Unity of science as a working hypothesis |editor-last=Feigl |editor-first=Herbert |editor-link=Herbert Feigl |title=Concepts, theories and the mind–body problem |series=Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science |volume=2 |___location=Minneapolis |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |pages=3–36 |hdl=11299/184622 |isbn=9780816601585 |oclc=2669746 |chapter-url=https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/184622 }} Reprinted in {{harvnb|Boyd|Gasper|Trout|1991}}.

* {{Cite book |last=Piaget |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Piaget |date=1918 |title=Recherche |___location=Lausanne |publisher=Édition La Concorde |page=59 |oclc=2565864 |access-date=9 February 2017 |url=http://www.fondationjeanpiaget.ch/fjp/site/textes/VE/JP_18_Recherche.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629025055/http://www.fondationjeanpiaget.ch/fjp/site/textes/VE/JP_18_Recherche.pdf |archive-date=2016-06-29 |url-status=live |language=fr }}

* {{cite book |editor1-last=Symons |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Pombo |editor2-first=Olga |editor3-last=Torres |editor3-first=Juan Manuel |date=2011 |title=Otto Neurath and the unity of science |series=Logic, epistemology, and the unity of science |volume=18 |___location=Dordrecht; New York |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |isbn=9789400701427 |oclc=723045353 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-0143-4 }}

* {{cite book |last=Tahko |first=Tuomas E. |date=2021 |title=Unity of science |series=Cambridge elements in the philosophy of science |___location=Cambridge, UK; New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108713382 |oclc=1204142197 |doi=10.1017/9781108581417 |doi-access=free}}

* {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Malcolm |date=2000 |title=Aristotle's theory of the unity of science |series=Phoenix, supplementary volume |volume=38 |___location=Toronto |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |isbn=0802047963 |oclc=43634904 |doi=10.3138/9781442670990 }}

{{refend}}

==Further reading==

{{refbegin}}

* {{cite book |last1=Bechtel |first1=William |author-link1=William Bechtel |last2=Hamilton |first2=Andrew |date=2007 |chapter=Reduction, integration, and the unity of science: natural, behavioral, and social sciences and the humanities |editor-last=Kuipers |editor-first=Theo A. F. |title=General philosophy of science: focal issues |series=Handbook of the philosophy of science |___location=Amsterdam |publisher=[[North-Holland (publisher)|North-Holland]] |pages=377–430 |isbn=0444515488 |oclc=123374590 |doi=10.1016/B978-044451548-3/50009-4 |chapter-url=https://mechanism.ucsd.edu/~bill/research/bechtel.hamilton.reduction.pdf}}

* {{cite journal |last=Bertalanffy |first=Ludwig von |author-link=Ludwig von Bertalanffy |date=December 1951 |title=General system theory: a new approach to unity of science: 1. Problems of general system theory |journal=[[Human Biology (journal)|Human Biology]] |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=302–312 |jstor=41448003 |pmid=14907026 }} Bertallanfy's article was part of a section that also included, in response, [[Carl G. Hempel]]'s "General system theory and the unity of science" (pp.&nbsp;313–322), Robert E. Bass's "Unity of nature" (pp.&nbsp;323–327), and [[Hans Jonas]]'s "Comment on general system theory" (pp.&nbsp;328–335).

* {{cite book |editor1-last=BoydGalison |editor1-first=RichardPeter |editor1-link=RichardPeter BoydGalison |editor2-last=GasperStump |editor2-first=PhilipDavid |editor3-last=Trout |editor3-first=J. D. |editor3-link=J. D. Trout |date=19911996 |title=The philosophydisunity of science: boundaries, contexts, and power |series=AWriting Bradford bookscience |___location=CambridgeStanford, MACA |publisher=[[MITStanford University Press]] |isbn=02620231560804724369 |oclc=22597466 32468580}}

* {{cite book |last=BungeHooker |first=MarioC. A. |author-linkdate=Mario2000 |chapter=The unity of Bungescience |dateeditor-last=2003Newton-Smith |titleeditor-first=EmergenceWilliam andH. convergence:|editor-link=William qualitativeNewton-Smith novelty|title=A andcompanion to the unityphilosophy of knowledgescience |series=TorontoBlackwell studiescompanions into philosophy |___locationvolume=Toronto18 |publisher___location=[[UniversityMalden, ofMA; TorontoOxford Press]]|publisher=Blackwell |pages=540–549 |isbn=08020886000631170243 |oclc=5241106442428744 |doi=10.31381002/9781442674356 9781405164481.ch78}}

* {{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Harold |date=1997 |title=Individualism and the unity of science: essays on reduction, explanation, and the special sciences |series=Worldly philosophy |___location=Lanham, MD |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=0847686620 |oclc=36817265 |url=https://archive.org/details/individualismuni0000kinc |url-access=registration}}

* {{cite SEP |url-id=scientific-unity |title=The unity of science |date=2017 |edition=Fall 2017 |last=Cat |first=Jordi |ref=harv}}

* {{cite book |last=DupréOdum |first=JohnHoward T. |author-link=JohnHoward T. DupréOdum |date=19931995 |titlechapter=TheEnergy disordersystems and the unification of things:science metaphysical|editor-last=Hall foundations|editor-first=Charles ofA. S. |editor-link=Charles A. S. Hall |title=Maximum power: the disunityideas and applications of scienceH.T. Odum |___location=CambridgeNiwot, MACO |publisher=[[Harvard University Press of Colorado]] |pages=365–372 |isbn=06742126060870813625 |oclc=25746325 31436211}}

* {{cite book |editor1-last=FeyerabendPombo |editor1-first=PaulOlga |authoreditor2-linklast=PaulTorres Feyerabend|editor2-first=Juan Manuel |dateeditor3-last=2011Symons |chaptereditor3-first=TheJohn disunity|editor4-last=Rahman of|editor4-first=Shahid science|date=2012 |title=TheSpecial tyrannysciences and the unity of science |___location=Cambridge, UKDordrecht; Malden,New MAYork |publisher=[[Polity PressSpringer-Verlag]] |pagesisbn=32–639789400720299 |isbndoi=10.1007/978-0745651897 |oclc=668946683 94-007-2030-5}}

* {{cite journal |last=FodorPotochnik |first=Jerry A. |author-link=Jerry FodorAngela |date=OctoberMay 19742011 |title=SpecialA sciencesNeurathian (or:conception Theof disunitythe unity of science as a working hypothesis) |journal=[[SyntheseErkenntnis]] |volume=2874 |issue=23 |pages=97–115305–319 |doi=10.1007/BF00485230s10670-010-9228-0 |jstor=20114958 }}41476691 Reprinted in {{harvnb|Boyds2cid=143918932|Gasper|Trout|1991url=http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/19016/1/POTANC-2.1.pdf }}.

* {{cite book |editor1-last=GalisonRuphy |editor1-first=PeterStéphanie |editor1-linkdate=Peter Galison2016 |editor2orig-lastyear=Stump2013 |editor2-firsttitle=DavidScientific J.pluralism |date=1996reconsidered: |title=Thea disunitynew ofapproach science:to boundaries,the contexts,(dis)unity and power |series=Writingof science |___location=Stanford, CAPittsburgh |publisher=[[Stanford University of Pittsburgh Press]] |isbn=08047243699780822944584 |oclc=32468580 951158157}}

* {{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Harold |date=1997 |title=Individualism and the unity of science: essays on reduction, explanation, and the special sciences |series=Worldly philosophy |___location=Lanham, MD |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=0847686620 |oclc=36817265 }}

* {{cite book |last=Odum |first=Howard T. |author-link=Howard T. Odum |date=1995 |chapter=Energy systems and the unification of science |editor-last=Hall |editor-first=Charles A. S. |editor-link=Charles A. S. Hall |title=Maximum power: the ideas and applications of H.T. Odum |___location=Niwot, CO |publisher=[[University Press of Colorado]] |pages=365–372 |isbn=0870813625 |oclc=31436211 }}

* {{cite book |last1=Oppenheim |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Oppenheim |last2=Putnam |first2=Hilary |author-link2=Hilary Putnam |date=1958 |chapter=Unity of science as a working hypothesis |editor-last=Feigl |editor-first=Herbert |editor-link=Herbert Feigl |title=Concepts, theories and the mind–body problem |series=Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science |volume=2 |___location=Minneapolis |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |pages=3–36 |hdl=11299/184622 |isbn=9780816601585 |oclc=2669746 }} Reprinted in {{harvnb|Boyd|Gasper|Trout|1991}}.

* {{cite book |editor1-last=Pombo |editor1-first=Olga |editor2-last=Torres |editor2-first=Juan Manuel |editor3-last=Symons |editor3-first=John |editor4-last=Rahman |editor4-first=Shahid |date=2012 |title=Special sciences and the unity of science |___location=Dordrecht; New York |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |isbn=9789400720299 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-2030-5 }}

* {{cite journal |last=Potochnik |first=Angela |date=May 2011 |title=A Neurathian conception of the unity of science |journal=[[Erkenntnis]] |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=305–319 |doi=10.1007/s10670-010-9228-0 |jstor=41476691 }}

* {{cite book |last=Ruphy |first=Stéphanie |date=2016 |orig-year=2013 |title=Scientific pluralism reconsidered: a new approach to the (dis)unity of science |___location=Pittsburgh |publisher=[[University of Pittsburgh Press]] |isbn=9780822944584 |oclc=951158157 }}

* {{cite book |editor1-last=Symons |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Pombo |editor2-first=Olga |editor3-last=Torres |editor3-first=Juan Manuel |date=2011 |title=Otto Neurath and the unity of science |series=Logic, epistemology, and the unity of science |volume=18 |___location=Dordrecht; New York |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |isbn=9789400701427 |oclc=723045353 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-0143-4 }}

* {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Malcolm |date=2000 |title=Aristotle's theory of the unity of science |series=Phoenix, supplementary volume |volume=38 |___location=Toronto |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |isbn=0802047963 |oclc=43634904 |doi=10.3138/9781442670990 }}

{{refend}}

==External links==

*{{PhilPapers|category|unity-of-science|Unity of Science}}

*[https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.USM Guide to the Unity of Science Movement Records 1934-19681934–1968] at the [https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/scrc/ University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center]

{{Philosophy of science}}

{{Positivism}}

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[[Category:Metaphysics of science]]

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