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mechanism
Wednesday 29 October 2003
Definition (from Wikipedia): Mechanism is a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes. It can be contrasted with vitalism, the philosophical theory that vital forces are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism.
The doctrine of mechanism in philosophy comes in two different flavors: universal mechanism and anthropic mechanism. They are both doctrines of metaphysics, but they are different in scope and ambitions:
universal mechanism is the first is a global doctrine about nature.
anthropic mechanism is a local doctrine about human beings and their minds.
See also
universal mechanism
anthropic mechanism
- man machinery
biological mechanism
- cellular machinery
See also
The machine man (L’Homme-Machine)
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
René Descartes
References
Peters R. Checking and fixing the cellular nanomachinery: towards medical nanoscopy. Trends Mol Med. 2006 Feb;12(2):83-9. PMID: 16406702
Piccolino M. Biological machines: from mills to molecules. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2000 Nov;1(2):149-53. PMID: 11253368
Books in french
La première révolution biologique. de Mirko D. Grmek. Éditeur : Payot (3 octobre 1990). Collection : Bibliothèque scientifique Payot. ASIN : 2228882771