Batterman, Robert W. - The Devil in the Details: Asymptotic Reasoning in Explanation, Reduction, and Emergence

Methodological philosophy of science concerns itself, among other things, with issues about the nature of scientific theories, of scientific explanation, and of intertheoretic reduction. Philosophers of science frequently have attempted to identify and "rationally reconstruct" distinct types of reasoning employed by scientists as they go about their business. Philosophical questions often asked in these contexts include: What counts as an explanation? When does one theory replace or reduce another? What, for that matter, is a theory? All too often, however, these reconstructions end up being quite far removed from the actual science being done.