Power and Influence: The Metaphysics of Reductive Explanation

In Power and Influence, Richard Corry investigates the assumptions that are built into the reductive method of explanation–the method whereby we attempt to explain a complex system by studying its components in relative isolation. He argues that this method makes assumptions about the nature of causal power and causal influence, which have to do with the way that objects interact with each other. From there, Corry traces the implications of these assumptions for some traditional philosophical problems in metaphysics and ethics, and presents an integrated metaphysical worldview grounded in the nature of power and influence.