“中层性质”的因果力与稳健性论证

"中层性质",例如化学、生物学、生态学等特殊科学关涉的物的性质,是否具有因果力,向来是科学哲学中还原主义与反还原主义争论的焦点问题。在为中层性质拥有自发的、不可还原的因果力辩护的论证当中,基于干预主义因果理论的稳健性论证,相较于传统论证具有一定的优势:中层性质的因果力来自于中层的因果共变的稳健性,因而独立于底层,进而能够回应因果排他问题。但进一步分析稳健性论证所提供的案例表明,事实上,稳健性所依赖的中层性质对底层性质的反馈性约束作用才是中层性质具有因果力的关键理由,然而该反馈性约束作用不普遍适用于所有的中层性质;换言之,并非所有中层性质都具有独特的因果力。

The Causal Power of “the Middle-level Properties” and the Argument from Robustness

Whether "middle-level properties",such as the material properties that chemistry,biology,ecology and other special science are concerned,have causal power,has always been the focus of debates between reductionism and anti-reductionism in philosophy of science.Among those that argue for the autonomous and irreducible causal power of the mid-level properties,the argument from robustness based on interventionist causal theory,has certain advantages over traditional ones;the causal powers of the mid-level properties emerge from their invariance or robustness,which are independent of the underlying level,and thus they are able to respond to the causal exclusive problem.However,further analysis of the cases provided shows that,the feedback effects are the key of robustness,and thus of the causal efficiency of the mid-level properties.Nevertheless,the feedback constraint effect does not apply to all mid-level properties.In other words,not all mid-level properties are causally efficient.