# Unity of science

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Theory in the philosophy of science

The **unity of science** is a thesis in [philosophy of science](/source/Philosophy_of_science) that says that all the [sciences](/source/Sciences) form a unified whole. The variants of the thesis can be classified as [ontological](/source/Ontological) (giving a unified account of the structure of reality) and/or as [epistemic](/source/Epistemic)/pragmatic (giving a unified account of how the activities and products of science work).[1] 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](/source/Pluralism_(philosophy)) in the ontology and/or practice of science.[1]

Early versions of the unity of science thesis can be found in [ancient Greek philosophers](/source/Ancient_Greek_philosophers) such as [Aristotle](/source/Aristotle),[2][3] and in the later history of [Western philosophy](/source/Western_philosophy).[2] For example, in the first half of the 20th century the thesis was associated with the unity of science movement led by [Otto Neurath](/source/Otto_Neurath),[4] and in the second half of the century the thesis was advocated by [Ludwig von Bertalanffy](/source/Ludwig_von_Bertalanffy) in "General System Theory: A New Approach to Unity of Science" (1951)[4][5] and by [Paul Oppenheim](/source/Paul_Oppenheim) and [Hilary Putnam](/source/Hilary_Putnam) in "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis" (1958).[2][6] It has been opposed by, for example, [Jerry Fodor](/source/Jerry_Fodor) in "Special Sciences (Or: The Disunity of Science as a Working Hypothesis)" (1974),[2][7] by [Paul Feyerabend](/source/Paul_Feyerabend) in *Against Method* (1975) and later works,[2][8] by [John Dupré](/source/John_Dupr%C3%A9) in "The Disunity of Science" (1983) and *The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science* (1993),[2][9] by [Nancy Cartwright](/source/Nancy_Cartwright_(philosopher)) in *The Dappled World: A Study of the Boundaries of Science* (1999) and other works,[2][10] and by [Evelyn Fox Keller](/source/Evelyn_Fox_Keller) in *Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with Models, Metaphors, and Machines* (2002) and other works.[11]

[Jean Piaget](/source/Jean_Piaget) suggested, in his 1918 book *Recherche*[12] 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 forms a basis for logic, completing the circle,[13] without implying that any science could be [reduced](/source/Greedy_reductionism) to any other.[14] More recently, many [complex systems](/source/Complex_system) are considered to be [transdisciplinary](/source/Transdisciplinary)[15] objects of study.[2][16] Such systems can be modeled as having [emergent properties](/source/Emergent_properties) at different [levels of organization](/source/Levels_of_organization), which do not neatly correspond to separate disciplines such as physics or biology,[2] and which cannot be adequately modeled using a philosophy of extreme [reductionism](/source/Reductionism) ("everything comes from the bottom", which does not fully account for emergent properties) or extreme [holism](/source/Holism) ("everything comes from the top", which does not fully account for systems' components and interactions).[17][18]

## See also

- [Consilience](/source/Consilience)

- [Hierarchy of sciences](/source/Hierarchy_of_sciences)

- [International Encyclopedia of Unified Science](/source/International_Encyclopedia_of_Unified_Science)

- [Logical positivism](/source/Logical_positivism)

- [Scientific pluralism](/source/Scientific_pluralism)

- [Special sciences](/source/Special_sciences)

- [Stanford School](/source/Stanford_School)

- [Systems theory](/source/Systems_theory)

- [Tektology](/source/Tektology)

- [The central science](/source/The_central_science)

- [Theory of everything](/source/Theory_of_everything)

- [Unified Science](/source/Unified_Science)

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTETahko20214_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTETahko20214_1-1) [Tahko 2021](#CITEREFTahko2021), p. 4.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECat2017_2-8) [Cat 2017](#CITEREFCat2017).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilson2000_3-0)** [Wilson 2000](#CITEREFWilson2000).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESymonsPomboTorres2011_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESymonsPomboTorres2011_4-1) [Symons, Pombo & Torres 2011](#CITEREFSymonsPomboTorres2011).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBertalanffy1951_5-0)** [Bertalanffy 1951](#CITEREFBertalanffy1951).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEOppenheimPutnam1958_6-0)** [Oppenheim & Putnam 1958](#CITEREFOppenheimPutnam1958).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFodor1974_7-0)** [Fodor 1974](#CITEREFFodor1974).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Feyerabend 1993](#CITEREFFeyerabend1993); [Feyerabend 2011](#CITEREFFeyerabend2011).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [Dupré 1983](#CITEREFDupré1983); [Dupré 1993](#CITEREFDupré1993).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECartwright1999_10-0)** [Cartwright 1999](#CITEREFCartwright1999).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Ludwig & Ruphy 2021](#CITEREFLudwigRuphy2021); [Keller 2002](#CITEREFKeller2002).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPiaget1918_12-0)** [Piaget 1918](#CITEREFPiaget1918).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBraunBaribeau1984_13-0)** [Braun & Baribeau 1984](#CITEREFBraunBaribeau1984).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKitchener1981_14-0)** [Kitchener 1981](#CITEREFKitchener1981).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-trans_15-0)** [Nicolescu 2002](#CITEREFNicolescu2002), p. 1: "The term *transdisciplinary* first appeared three decades ago in the works of such varied scholars as [Jean Piaget](/source/Jean_Piaget), [Edgar Morin](/source/Edgar_Morin), and [Erich Jantsch](/source/Erich_Jantsch)."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBunge20034,_250_16-0)** [Bunge 2003](#CITEREFBunge2003), pp. 4, 250.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBunge200340_17-0)** [Bunge 2003](#CITEREFBunge2003), p. 40.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEO'Connor2020_18-0)** [O'Connor 2020](#CITEREFO'Connor2020).

## References

- [Bertalanffy, Ludwig von](/source/Ludwig_von_Bertalanffy) (December 1951). "General system theory: a new approach to unity of science: 1. Problems of general system theory". *[Human Biology](/source/Human_Biology_(journal))*. **23** (4): 302–312. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [41448003](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41448003). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [14907026](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14907026). Bertallanfy's article was part of a section that also included, in response, [Carl G. Hempel](/source/Carl_G._Hempel)'s "General system theory and the unity of science" (pp. 313–322), Robert E. Bass's "Unity of nature" (pp. 323–327), and [Hans Jonas](/source/Hans_Jonas)'s "Comment on general system theory" (pp. 328–335).

- [Boyd, Richard](/source/Richard_Boyd); Gasper, Philip; [Trout, J. D.](/source/J._D._Trout), eds. (1991). [*The philosophy of science*](https://archive.org/details/philosophyofscie0000unse_u7z8). A Bradford book. Cambridge, MA: [MIT Press](/source/MIT_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0262023156](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0262023156). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [22597466](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/22597466).

- Braun, Claude M. J.; Baribeau, Jacinthe M. C. (Summer 1984). ["The classification of psychology among the sciences from Francis Bacon to Boniface Kedrov"](https://www.academia.edu/27010916). *[Journal of Mind and Behavior](/source/Journal_of_Mind_and_Behavior)*. **5** (3): 245–259 (252–254). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [43853037](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43853037).

- [Bunge, Mario](/source/Mario_Bunge) (2003). [*Emergence and convergence: qualitative novelty and the unity of knowledge*](https://archive.org/details/emergenceconverg0000bung). Toronto studies in philosophy. Toronto: [University of Toronto Press](/source/University_of_Toronto_Press). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3138/9781442674356](https://doi.org/10.3138%2F9781442674356). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0802088600](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0802088600). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [52411064](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/52411064).

- [Cartwright, Nancy](/source/Nancy_Cartwright) (1999). *The dappled world: a study of the boundaries of science*. New York: [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/CBO9781139167093](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139167093). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-64336-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-64336-8). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [40305531](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/40305531).

- Cat, Jordi (2017). ["The unity of science"](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/scientific-unity/). In [Zalta, Edward N.](/source/Edward_N._Zalta) (ed.). *[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy](/source/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy)* (Fall 2017 ed.). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1095-5054](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1095-5054). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [429049174](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/429049174).

- [Dupré, John](/source/John_Dupr%C3%A9) (July 1983). ["The disunity of science"](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmind%2FXCII.367.321). *[Mind](/source/Mind_(journal))*. **92** (367): 321–346. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/mind/XCII.367.321](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmind%2FXCII.367.321). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2253810](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2253810).

- Dupré, John (1993). [*The disorder of things: metaphysical foundations of the disunity of science*](https://archive.org/details/disorderofthings0000dupr). Cambridge, MA: [Harvard University Press](/source/Harvard_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0674212606](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0674212606). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [25746325](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/25746325).

- [Feyerabend, Paul](/source/Paul_Feyerabend) (1993) [1974]. [*Against method*](https://archive.org/details/againstmethod0000feye) (3rd ed.). London; New York: [Verso](/source/Verso_Books). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [086091481X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/086091481X). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [29026104](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/29026104).

- Feyerabend, Paul (2011). ["The disunity of science"](https://archive.org/details/tyrannyofscience0000feye/page/32). [*The tyranny of science*](https://archive.org/details/tyrannyofscience0000feye). Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA: [Polity Press](/source/Polity_Press). pp. [32–63](https://archive.org/details/tyrannyofscience0000feye/page/32). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0745651897](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0745651897). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [668946683](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/668946683).

- [Fodor, Jerry A.](/source/Jerry_Fodor) (October 1974). ["Special sciences (or: The disunity of science as a working hypothesis)"](https://philarchive.org/rec/FODSSO-2). *[Synthese](/source/Synthese)*. **28** (2): 97–115. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/BF00485230](https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00485230). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [20114958](https://www.jstor.org/stable/20114958). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [46979938](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:46979938).[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] Reprinted in [Boyd, Gasper & Trout 1991](#CITEREFBoydGasperTrout1991).

- [Keller, Evelyn Fox](/source/Evelyn_Fox_Keller) (2002). [*Making sense of life: explaining biological development with models, metaphors, and machines*](https://archive.org/details/makingsenseoflif00kell). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-674-00746-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674-00746-8). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [j.ctvjz82ht](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvjz82ht). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [48100379](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/48100379).

- Kitchener, Richard F. (September 1981). "The nature and scope of genetic epistemology". *[Philosophy of Science](/source/Philosophy_of_Science_(journal))*. **48** (3): 400–415 (413). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1086/289007](https://doi.org/10.1086%2F289007). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [186987](https://www.jstor.org/stable/186987). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144785292](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144785292). Nowhere does Piaget suggest that sociology can be reduced to psychology, but instead refers to 'psycho-sociology'.

- Ludwig, David; Ruphy, Stéphanie (2021). ["Scientific pluralism"](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2024/entries/scientific-pluralism/). In [Zalta, Edward N.](/source/Edward_N._Zalta) (ed.). *[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy](/source/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy)* (Fall 2024 ed.). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1095-5054](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1095-5054). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [429049174](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/429049174).

- [Nicolescu, Basarab](/source/Basarab_Nicolescu) (2002). [*Manifesto of transdisciplinarity*](https://archive.org/details/manifestooftrans0000nico). Albany: [State University of New York Press](/source/State_University_of_New_York_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0791452611](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0791452611). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [46872261](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/46872261).

- O'Connor, Timothy (2020). ["Emergent properties"](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/properties-emergent/). In [Zalta, Edward N.](/source/Edward_N._Zalta) (ed.). *[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy](/source/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy)* (Winter 2021 ed.). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1095-5054](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1095-5054). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [429049174](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/429049174).

- [Oppenheim, Paul](/source/Paul_Oppenheim); [Putnam, Hilary](/source/Hilary_Putnam) (1958). ["Unity of science as a working hypothesis"](https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/184622). In [Feigl, Herbert](/source/Herbert_Feigl) (ed.). *Concepts, theories and the mind–body problem*. Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science. Vol. 2. Minneapolis: [University of Minnesota Press](/source/University_of_Minnesota_Press). pp. 3–36. [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[11299/184622](https://hdl.handle.net/11299%2F184622). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780816601585](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780816601585). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [2669746](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/2669746). {{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#invalid_isbn_date)) Reprinted in [Boyd, Gasper & Trout 1991](#CITEREFBoydGasperTrout1991).

- [Piaget, Jean](/source/Jean_Piaget) (1918). [*Recherche*](http://www.fondationjeanpiaget.ch/fjp/site/textes/VE/JP_18_Recherche.pdf) (PDF) (in French). Lausanne: Édition La Concorde. p. 59. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [2565864](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/2565864). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160629025055/http://www.fondationjeanpiaget.ch/fjp/site/textes/VE/JP_18_Recherche.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 9 February 2017.

- Symons, John; Pombo, Olga; Torres, Juan Manuel, eds. (2011). *Otto Neurath and the unity of science*. Logic, epistemology, and the unity of science. Vol. 18. Dordrecht; New York: [Springer-Verlag](/source/Springer-Verlag). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/978-94-007-0143-4](https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0143-4). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789400701427](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789400701427). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [723045353](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/723045353).

- Tahko, Tuomas E. (2021). *Unity of science*. Cambridge elements in the philosophy of science. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/9781108581417](https://doi.org/10.1017%2F9781108581417). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781108713382](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781108713382). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1204142197](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1204142197).

- Wilson, Malcolm (2000). *Aristotle's theory of the unity of science*. Phoenix, supplementary volume. Vol. 38. Toronto: [University of Toronto Press](/source/University_of_Toronto_Press). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3138/9781442670990](https://doi.org/10.3138%2F9781442670990). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0802047963](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0802047963). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [43634904](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/43634904).

## Further reading

- [Bechtel, William](/source/William_Bechtel); Hamilton, Andrew (2007). ["Reduction, integration, and the unity of science: natural, behavioral, and social sciences and the humanities"](https://mechanism.ucsd.edu/~bill/research/bechtel.hamilton.reduction.pdf) (PDF). In Kuipers, Theo A. F. (ed.). *General philosophy of science: focal issues*. Handbook of the philosophy of science. Amsterdam: [North-Holland](/source/North-Holland_(publisher)). pp. 377–430. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/B978-044451548-3/50009-4](https://doi.org/10.1016%2FB978-044451548-3%2F50009-4). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0444515488](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0444515488). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [123374590](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/123374590).

- [Galison, Peter](/source/Peter_Galison); Stump, David J., eds. (1996). *The disunity of science: boundaries, contexts, and power*. Writing science. Stanford, CA: [Stanford University Press](/source/Stanford_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0804724369](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0804724369). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [32468580](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/32468580).

- Hooker, C. A. (2000). "The unity of science". In [Newton-Smith, William H.](/source/William_Newton-Smith) (ed.). *A companion to the philosophy of science*. Blackwell companions to philosophy. Vol. 18. Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 540–549. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1002/9781405164481.ch78](https://doi.org/10.1002%2F9781405164481.ch78). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0631170243](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0631170243). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [42428744](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/42428744).

- Kincaid, Harold (1997). [*Individualism and the unity of science: essays on reduction, explanation, and the special sciences*](https://archive.org/details/individualismuni0000kinc). Worldly philosophy. Lanham, MD: [Rowman & Littlefield](/source/Rowman_%26_Littlefield). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0847686620](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0847686620). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [36817265](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/36817265).

- [Odum, Howard T.](/source/Howard_T._Odum) (1995). "Energy systems and the unification of science". In [Hall, Charles A. S.](/source/Charles_A._S._Hall) (ed.). *Maximum power: the ideas and applications of H.T. Odum*. Niwot, CO: [University Press of Colorado](/source/University_Press_of_Colorado). pp. 365–372. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0870813625](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0870813625). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [31436211](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/31436211).

- Pombo, Olga; Torres, Juan Manuel; Symons, John; Rahman, Shahid, eds. (2012). *Special sciences and the unity of science*. Dordrecht; New York: [Springer-Verlag](/source/Springer-Verlag). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/978-94-007-2030-5](https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-94-007-2030-5). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789400720299](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789400720299).

- Potochnik, Angela (May 2011). ["A Neurathian conception of the unity of science"](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/19016/1/POTANC-2.1.pdf) (PDF). *[Erkenntnis](/source/Erkenntnis)*. **74** (3): 305–319. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s10670-010-9228-0](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10670-010-9228-0). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [41476691](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41476691). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [143918932](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143918932).

- Ruphy, Stéphanie (2016) [2013]. *Scientific pluralism reconsidered: a new approach to the (dis)unity of science*. Pittsburgh: [University of Pittsburgh Press](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780822944584](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780822944584). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [951158157](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/951158157).

## External links

- [Unity of Science](https://philpapers.org/browse/unity-of-science) at [PhilPapers](/source/PhilPapers)

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

v t e Philosophy of science Concepts Analysis Analytic–synthetic distinction A priori and a posteriori Causality Mill's methods Commensurability Consilience Construct Correlation Function Creative synthesis Demarcation problem Empirical evidence Experiment Design Thought Explanatory power Fact Falsifiability Feminist method Functional contextualism Hypothesis Alternative Null Ignoramus et ignorabimus Inductive reasoning Intertheoretic reduction Inquiry Measurement Nature Objectivity Observation Paradigm Problem of induction Research Scientific evidence Evidence-based practice Scientific law Scientific method Scientific pluralism Scientific Revolution Testability Theory Choice Ladenness Scientific Underdetermination Unity of science Variable Control Dependent and independent Theories Coherentism Confirmation holism Constructive empiricism Constructive realism Constructivist epistemology Contextualism Conventionalism Deductive-nomological model Epistemological anarchism Evolutionism Fallibilism Foundationalism Hypothetico-deductive model Inductionism Instrumentalism Model-dependent realism Naturalism Physicalism Positivism—reductionism—determinism Pragmatism Rationalism vs. empiricism The received view vs. the semantic view of theories Scientific essentialism Scientific formalism Scientific realism vs. anti-realism Scientific skepticism Scientism Structuralism Uniformitarianism Verificationism Vitalism Philosophy of... Biology Chemistry Physics Space and time Social science Archaeology Economics Geography History Linguistics Psychology Related topics Criticism of science Descriptive science Epistemology Exact sciences Faith and rationality Hard and soft science History and philosophy of science Non-science Pseudoscience Normative science Protoscience Questionable cause Relationship between religion and science Rhetoric of science Science studies Sociology of scientific ignorance Sociology of scientific knowledge Philosophers of science Precursors Roger Bacon Francis Bacon Galileo Galilei Isaac Newton David Hume Auguste Comte Henri Poincaré Pierre Duhem Karl Pearson Charles Sanders Peirce Wilhelm Windelband Alfred North Whitehead Bertrand Russell Otto Neurath C. D. Broad Michael Polanyi Hans Reichenbach Rudolf Carnap Karl Popper Carl Gustav Hempel W. V. O. Quine Thomas Kuhn Imre Lakatos Paul Feyerabend Ian Hacking Bas van Fraassen Larry Laudan Stathis Psillos Category

v t e Positivism Perspectives Antihumanism Empiricism Rationalism Scientism Declinations Legal positivism Logical positivism Positivist school Postpositivism Sociological positivism Machian positivism (empirio-criticism) Rankean historical positivism Polish positivism Russian Machism Principal concepts Consilience Demarcation Evidence Induction Justification Pseudoscience Critique of metaphysics Unity of science Verificationism Antitheses Antipositivism Confirmation holism Critical theory Falsifiability Geisteswissenschaft Hermeneutics Historicism Historism Human science Humanities Metaphysics Methodological dualism Problem of induction Reflectivism Related paradigm shifts in the history of science Non-Euclidean geometry (1830s) Uncertainty principle (1927) Related topics Behavioralism Post-behavioralism Critical rationalism Criticism of science Epistemology anarchism idealism nihilism pluralism realism Holism Instrumentalism Modernism Naturalism in literature Nomothetic–idiographic distinction Objectivity in science Operationalism Phenomenalism Philosophy of science Deductive-nomological model Ramsey sentence Sense-data theory Qualitative research Relationship between religion and science Sociology Social science Philosophy Structural functionalism Structuralism Structuration theory Positivist-related debate Method Methodenstreit (1890s) Werturteilsstreit (1909–1959) Positivismusstreit (1960s) Fourth Great Debate in international relations (1980s) Science wars (1990s) Contributions The Course in Positive Philosophy (1830) A General View of Positivism (1848) Critical History of Philosophy (1869) Idealism and Positivism (1879–1884) The Analysis of Sensations (1886) The Logic of Modern Physics (1927) Language, Truth, and Logic (1936) The Two Cultures (1959) The Universe in a Nutshell (2001) Proponents Richard Avenarius A. J. Ayer Berlin Circle / Vienna Circle Alexander Bogdanov Percy Williams Bridgman Auguste Comte Eugen Dühring Émile Durkheim Stephen Hawking Ernst Laas Ernst Mach Criticism Materialism and Empirio-criticism (1909) History and Class Consciousness (1923) The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934) The Poverty of Historicism (1936) World Hypotheses (1942) Two Dogmas of Empiricism (1951) Truth and Method (1960) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) Conjectures and Refutations (1963) One-Dimensional Man (1964) Knowledge and Human Interests (1968) The Poverty of Theory (1978) The Scientific Image (1980) The Rhetoric of Economics (1986) Critics Theodor W. Adorno Gaston Bachelard Mario Bunge Wilhelm Dilthey Paul Feyerabend Hans-Georg Gadamer Jürgen Habermas Thomas Kuhn Vladimir Lenin György Lukács Herbert Marcuse Deirdre McCloskey Stephen Pepper Karl Popper Willard Van Orman Quine E. P. Thompson Bas van Fraassen Max Weber Concepts in contention Knowledge Objectivity Phronesis Truth Verstehen Category

v t e Science and technology studies Economics Economics of science Political economy of research and innovation History History and philosophy of science History of science and technology History of technology Languages of science Scientific language Philosophy Anthropocene Antipositivism Empiricism Fuzzy logic Neo-Luddism Philosophy of science Philosophy of social science Philosophy of technology Positivism Postpositivism Religion and science Scientism Social constructivism Social epistemology Transhumanism Policy Academic freedom Digital divide Evidence-based policy Factor 10 Funding of science Horizon scanning Politicization of science Regulation of science Research ethics Right to science Science policy history of science of Technology assessment Technology policy Transition management Science studies Academic bias Antiscience Bibliometrics Boundary-work Consilience Criticism of science Demarcation problem Double hermeneutic Mapping controversies Metascience Paradigm shift black swan events Pseudoscience Psychology of science Replication crisis Science citizen communication education normal Neo-colonial post-normal rhetoric wars Scientific community consensus controversy dissent enterprise integrity literacy method misconduct priority skepticism Scientocracy Scientometrics Team science Traditional knowledge ecological Unity of science Women in science STEM Sociology Actor–network theory Social construction of technology shaping of technology Sociology of knowledge scientific Sociology of scientific ignorance Sociology of the history of science Sociotechnology Strong programme Technology studies Co-production Cyborg anthropology Design studies Dematerialization Digital anthropology Digital media use and mental health Early adopter Engineering studies Financial technology Hype cycle Innovation diffusion disruptive linear model system user Leapfrogging Normalization process theory Media studies Reverse salient Skunkworks project Sociotechnical system Technical change Technocracy Technoscience feminist Technological change convergence determinism revolution transitions Technology and society criticism of dynamics theories of transfer Women in engineering Category Associations Journals Scholars

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