William Bechtel
Encyclopedia
William Bechtel is a professor of Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 in the Department of Philosophy and the Science Studies Program at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...

. He was a Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...

 from 1994 until 2002 http://artsci.wustl.edu/~philos/history/narrative/1990s.htm. Bechtel was also the chair of the Philosophy Department from 1999 until 2002 and was heavily involved with the Philosophy-Psychology-Neuroscience program, serving at different times as Assistant Director and Director. Before that, he was at Georgia State. Bechtel earned his PhD from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 and his BA from Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...

.

Professor Bechtel's work in philosophy has focused on the philosophy of the life sciences. In particular, he has worked on cell biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, and cognitive science. Professor Bechtel advocates a mechanistic approach to Philosophy of Science, taking the view that phenomena are often explained by specifying mechanisms. He argues that although this is more naturally in accordance with the actual methodology of life scientists, it contrasts with the traditional model of deduction from laws supported by mainstream Philosophy of Science.

Professor Bechtel has also written about the nature of scientific discovery. He is the editor of the journal Philosophical Psychology.

Books

  • Discovering Cell Mechanisms. The Creation of Modern Cell Biology. Cambridge University Press. 2006.
  • Connectionism and the mind: Parallel processing, dynamics, and evolution in networks. Basil Blackwell. 2002.
  • Philosophy of science: An overview for cognitive science. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 1998.
  • Discovering Complexity. Princeton University Press. 1993.
  • W. Bechtel Philosophy of mind: An overview for cognitive science. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 1988.
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