Dissipation, integration and practical pluralism

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the theoretical usefulness of pluralism. We are interested in how a robust pluralism could influence theoretical debates in different scientific fields. Our area of expertise, cognitive science, will serve as the primary vehicle for our discussion. To organize this discussion, we identify a tension that simmers under much work on pluralism, between “dissipative” and “integrative” pluralism. Before we turn to cognitive science to illustrate this distinction, we first flesh out a particular recursive consequence of plural thinking. This aside motivates the discussion of dissipative and integrative plurality. We focus on cognitive science as an illustration of how these strategies have influenced it, and where there may be untapped practical consequences of pluralism. We argue that integrative pluralism has been insufficiently explored for theories of complex cognitive phenomena. Adopting pluralism in general may have benefits and we illustrate some of these in domains of cognitive science. In our conclusion, we return to the core ideas of the present volume and discuss implications for pluralism more broadly.