Causality and interdisciplinarity in the philosophy of science in practice: The cases of ecology and environmental conservation

In this chapter, we will explore how interdisciplinary work of philosophy of science in practice can help shed light on distinct ways of understanding causality, more specific mechanisms in ecology and conservation. On the one hand, general accounts of mechanistic explanations in the philosophy of science hold that to discover a mechanism one needs to unravel its components and activities which will lead to its causal processes. On the other side, for instance in ecology, detailed knowledge of such components and activities is sometimes a challenge for researchers considering the complex nature of the phenomenon at stake. In such cases, recognizing patterns is a more realistic way to identify mechanisms and create explanations. Additionally, for those ecological phenomena relevant to policymaking, there is a growing movement to consider and include local, indigenous, and traditional ecological knowledge in legislation processes. This chapter considers interdisciplinary works in the philosophy of science and ecology to discuss what counts as causality/mechanisms according to their distinct epistemic practices.