mechanismcentric

Mechanism-centric is an epistemological stance that prioritizes mechanism-based explanations, focusing on the structures, processes, and interactions that generate observed phenomena. Proponents argue that understanding a phenomenon requires uncovering the underlying causal mechanisms rather than relying solely on high-level descriptions or statistical correlations.

Core features include identifying parts or components, their activities, interactions, and organization; testing conjectured mechanisms through targeted interventions or perturbations; and integrating multiple subprocesses into a cohesive account of how a phenomenon arises. Mechanism-centric work often spans multiple levels of organization, from molecules to organisms or ecosystems, and can employ computational or mathematical models to simulate causal processes.

In philosophy of science, mechanism-centric explanations contrast with functional or law-based accounts and are associated with the mechanistic explanation program developed by researchers such as Bechtel and Craver. In life sciences and cognitive sciences, mechanism-centric reasoning guides investigations into development, disease, memory, and behavior, seeking to connect microscopic substrates to macroscopic outcomes.

Critics caution that exclusive attention to parts may neglect system-wide properties, context, and emergent features, and that identifying complete mechanisms for complex or distributed phenomena can be difficult. They also note challenges in integrating mechanism-centered accounts with broader theoretical frameworks and in comparing mechanisms across domains. See also mechanistic explanation; causal mechanism; teleology.