Ideas from 'Thinking About Mechanisms' by Machamer,P/Darden,L/Craver,C [2000], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Philosophy of Science' (ed/tr -) [- ,]].

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7. Existence / B. Change in Existence / 2. Processes

16554

Activities have place, rate, duration, entities, properties, modes, direction, polarity, energy and range

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 2. Powers as Basic

16556

Penicillin causes nothing; the cause is what penicillin does

11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 2. Understanding

16562

We understand something by presenting its low-level entities and activities

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / e. Lawlike explanations

16563

The explanation is not the regularity, but the activity sustaining it

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / h. Explanations by function

16555

Functions are not properties of objects, they are activities contributing to mechanisms

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / i. Explanations by mechanism

16530

A mechanism explains a phenomenon by showing how it was produced

16529

Mechanisms are systems organised to produce regular change

16553

Our account of mechanism combines both entities and activities

16559

Descriptions of explanatory mechanisms have a bottom level, where going further is irrelevant

16528

Mechanisms are not just push-pull systems

14. Science / D. Explanation / 3. Best Explanation / b. Ultimate explanation

16564

There are four types of bottom-level activities which will explain phenomena

15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 3. Abstraction by mind

16561

We can abstract by taking an exemplary case and ignoring the detail

26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 11. Against Laws of Nature

16558

Laws of nature have very little application in biology