Study Guide: Chapter 5 — The Reality of Abstractions

Core Idea

Abstractions (numbers, ideas, morals) are real: they figure indispensably in the best explanations, and reality's criterion is explanatory. Reductionism ("only microphysics causes") is false; emergence has autonomous, causally potent levels.

Key Terms

Emergence · explanatory criterion of reality · reductionism (rejected) · levels of explanation

Case Summary

Domino computer: an output domino stays up because 641 is prime. The microphysical story explains nothing; the abstraction does the causal work — so primality is real.

Application Checklist

• [ ] Find a problem you keep fixing at the wrong level of emergence
• [ ] Name an abstraction (trust, debt, morale) your best explanation requires — treat it as real
• [ ] Catch "it's just X underneath" hiding the actual cause

Self-Test

1. Why does the prime-domino show abstractions cause physical effects?
2. What is the explanatory criterion of reality?
3. Why is reductionism false as an explanatory doctrine?