Holism and Reductionism in Ecology: A Trivial Dichotomy and Levins' Non-trivial Account (2006)
Lefkaditou, Ageliki (Author)
Stamou, George P. (Author)
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Volume: 28
Pages: 313--336
Ecology, though poor in philosophical scrutiny, is full of foundational controversies. The holism-reductionism debate is one associated with ontological, methodological and epistemological premises. During the beginning of the twentieth century, ecology appeared highly holistic mainly due to Frederic Clements's organismic approach. Influential criticism gathered, however, and by the middle of the century ecology seemed divided in two conflicting camps, reductionists and holists. Yet for the majority of ecologists eclecticism was the only choice since both doctrines were a poor description of the reality they faced in the field. Thus, by the beginning of the 1980s, ecologists searched for more pluralistic approaches which seemed more adequate to deal with nature's complexity. Evolutionary geneticist and ecologist Richard Levins was one such pioneer against closed systems of thought, such as holism and reductionism, proposing instead a dialectical approach. His view served both as a salve to the fallacies committed by vulgar reductionism and as a response to the rise of systems ecology. We consider Levins's arguments as a breakthrough to a challenging heuristic, a constant reminder of the limitations faced by scientists and an homage to self-consciousness
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