Wesley C. Salmon
Encyclopedia
Wesley C. Salmon was a metaphysician
and contemporary philosopher
of science
concerned primarily with the topics of causation
and explanation
.
Salmon taught in the History and Philosophy of Science programs at Indiana University Bloomington
, where he was one of the founding members of the program, and the University of Pittsburgh
. He earned his PhD
in philosophy from UCLA under the direction of Hans Reichenbach
.
A major feature of Salmon’s work consists of providing a philosophically sound basis for scientific explanation
. Salmon claimed that a scientific explanation is the state of affairs of something fitting into or being a part of a pattern in the world, where the pattern is constituted by at least one causal process. A process is the real physical connection between cause and effect. For example, the heat from the flame of a gas stove excites the molecules in the water via the iron atoms in the bottom of the pan. This is a process where every step from the cause, the flame, can be traced to the effect, boiling water. This view has come to be known as the ‘ontic’ account of explanation, specifically a causal-mechanical model of explanation, which involved mechanism (biology)
. It is thoroughly realist
and rests on an ontology
that is designed to answer the question: "Just what is a causal process?"
Salmon argued that events are intersections of two or more causal processes. This interpretation leads to depicting the world as a network with lines (causal processes) and nodes (intersections of causal processes - events). Thus events, causes and effects are reduced to causal processes, where causal processes are real connections between events. According to Salmon, causal processes transmit 'structure', or energy
and momentum
or 'information' from one spatio-temporal location to another. There are two ways, in principle, by which it is possible to demarcate causal processes from 'pseudo-processes' – how causal processes are transmitted through space-time and what they transmit. As for how causal processes are transmitted, the theory holds that the transmissions must be continuous, with no discontinuities or 'jumps' in space-time. Unfortunately this is not enough to be sure that it is a genuinely causal process, as 'pseudo-processes' can also be continuous.
Demarcation
requires that it is necessary to examine what causal processes transmit. Salmon argued causal processes transmit information, and as such we should be able to 'mark' a process by modifying it, to see if the modification is transmitted. This 'marking principal' serves to demarcate causal process from pseudo-processes, as the latter cannot be marked. Further to this, 'things' are 'causal agents' if they are originators of causal chains and not merely 'passers on' of causes. They are 'uncaused causers'. The 'uncaused causer' is the first cause in a new causal chain. It is the initial cause in the chain of causal events we are interested in explaining. The uncaused causer obviously had a cause of its own, but in terms of the phenomenon that we are attempting to explain, the uncaused causer's cause is irrelevant
Salmon's ontology of causal processes seems to fit scientific explanations very well. For example, genes
are very much 'causal agents'. Geneticists have inserted the 'antifreeze' genes from flounders into the genetic code of tomatoes. This then protects the tomatoes from frost damage. A process (normal reproduction) has been marked, such that the information that is transmitted (the DNA
) is modified (the addition of the flounder gene). Genes, therefore, are a part of a genuine causal process. Specifically, genes are made up of DNA. Inside the cell nucleus
, a particular nitrogen-base sequence of DNA controls precisely what proteins are formed in the cytoplasm
. By controlling the synthesis of proteins, DNA determines what chemical reactions take place in the cell. The chemical reactions of cells affect the chemical reactions of the body. A small chemical change to the way a particular molecule forms can produce a considerable effect on the phenotype
.
Here we have a detailed account of the way genes cause phenotypic effects. DNA is information that tells the cell what kind of proteins to form. This, in turn, governs the chemical reactions in the cell, which then produces a phenotypic effect. The gene is the 'uncaused causer' in the chain of causal events we are trying to explain.
Salmon also contributed to Bayesian concepts of probability. He attempted to explain Thomas Kuhn
in terms of Bayes' theorem
in an article called "Rationality and Objectivity".
He died in a car crash.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
and contemporary philosopher
Contemporary philosophy
Contemporary philosophy is the present period in the history of Western philosophy beginning at the end of the 19th century with the professionalization of the discipline and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy....
of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
concerned primarily with the topics of causation
Causation
Causation may refer to:* Causation , a key component to establish liability in both criminal and civil law* Causation in English law defines the requirement for liability in negligence...
and explanation
Explanation
An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequencesof those facts....
.
Salmon taught in the History and Philosophy of Science programs at Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
, where he was one of the founding members of the program, and the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. He earned his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in philosophy from UCLA under the direction of Hans Reichenbach
Hans Reichenbach
Hans Reichenbach was a leading philosopher of science, educator and proponent of logical empiricism...
.
A major feature of Salmon’s work consists of providing a philosophically sound basis for scientific explanation
Explanation
An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequencesof those facts....
. Salmon claimed that a scientific explanation is the state of affairs of something fitting into or being a part of a pattern in the world, where the pattern is constituted by at least one causal process. A process is the real physical connection between cause and effect. For example, the heat from the flame of a gas stove excites the molecules in the water via the iron atoms in the bottom of the pan. This is a process where every step from the cause, the flame, can be traced to the effect, boiling water. This view has come to be known as the ‘ontic’ account of explanation, specifically a causal-mechanical model of explanation, which involved mechanism (biology)
Mechanism (biology)
In biology --and in science in general-- a mechanism is a complex object or, more generally, a process that produces a regular phenomenon. For example, natural selection is one of the mechanisms of biological evolution, other being genetic drift, biased mutation, and gene flow; competition,...
. It is thoroughly realist
Philosophical realism
Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....
and rests on an ontology
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
that is designed to answer the question: "Just what is a causal process?"
Salmon argued that events are intersections of two or more causal processes. This interpretation leads to depicting the world as a network with lines (causal processes) and nodes (intersections of causal processes - events). Thus events, causes and effects are reduced to causal processes, where causal processes are real connections between events. According to Salmon, causal processes transmit 'structure', or energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
and momentum
Momentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
or 'information' from one spatio-temporal location to another. There are two ways, in principle, by which it is possible to demarcate causal processes from 'pseudo-processes' – how causal processes are transmitted through space-time and what they transmit. As for how causal processes are transmitted, the theory holds that the transmissions must be continuous, with no discontinuities or 'jumps' in space-time. Unfortunately this is not enough to be sure that it is a genuinely causal process, as 'pseudo-processes' can also be continuous.
Demarcation
Demarcation problem
The demarcation problem in the philosophy of science is about how and where to draw the lines around science. The boundaries are commonly drawn between science and non-science, between science and pseudoscience, between science and philosophy and between science and religion...
requires that it is necessary to examine what causal processes transmit. Salmon argued causal processes transmit information, and as such we should be able to 'mark' a process by modifying it, to see if the modification is transmitted. This 'marking principal' serves to demarcate causal process from pseudo-processes, as the latter cannot be marked. Further to this, 'things' are 'causal agents' if they are originators of causal chains and not merely 'passers on' of causes. They are 'uncaused causers'. The 'uncaused causer' is the first cause in a new causal chain. It is the initial cause in the chain of causal events we are interested in explaining. The uncaused causer obviously had a cause of its own, but in terms of the phenomenon that we are attempting to explain, the uncaused causer's cause is irrelevant
Salmon's ontology of causal processes seems to fit scientific explanations very well. For example, genes
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
are very much 'causal agents'. Geneticists have inserted the 'antifreeze' genes from flounders into the genetic code of tomatoes. This then protects the tomatoes from frost damage. A process (normal reproduction) has been marked, such that the information that is transmitted (the DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
) is modified (the addition of the flounder gene). Genes, therefore, are a part of a genuine causal process. Specifically, genes are made up of DNA. Inside the cell nucleus
Cell nucleus
In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...
, a particular nitrogen-base sequence of DNA controls precisely what proteins are formed in the cytoplasm
Cytoplasm
The cytoplasm is a small gel-like substance residing between the cell membrane holding all the cell's internal sub-structures , except for the nucleus. All the contents of the cells of prokaryote organisms are contained within the cytoplasm...
. By controlling the synthesis of proteins, DNA determines what chemical reactions take place in the cell. The chemical reactions of cells affect the chemical reactions of the body. A small chemical change to the way a particular molecule forms can produce a considerable effect on the phenotype
Phenotype
A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...
.
Here we have a detailed account of the way genes cause phenotypic effects. DNA is information that tells the cell what kind of proteins to form. This, in turn, governs the chemical reactions in the cell, which then produces a phenotypic effect. The gene is the 'uncaused causer' in the chain of causal events we are trying to explain.
Salmon also contributed to Bayesian concepts of probability. He attempted to explain Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an American historian and philosopher of science whose controversial 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was deeply influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term "paradigm shift," which has since become an English-language staple.Kuhn...
in terms of Bayes' theorem
Bayes' theorem
In probability theory and applications, Bayes' theorem relates the conditional probabilities P and P. It is commonly used in science and engineering. The theorem is named for Thomas Bayes ....
in an article called "Rationality and Objectivity".
He died in a car crash.