The Predominance of Mechanism in Contemporary Physics

In this chapter, we examine the implicit assumptions associated with the modeling framework of mechanism, which is the framework of choice in the exact sciences when it comes to studying systems. We will argue that, in the context of the exact sciences, dynamical systems theory may be thought of as a faithful mathematical expression of mechanism. We will present a broad outline of the modeling framework provided by dynamical systems theory. We will argue that, under certain conditions, one can hardly find a more effective modeling framework for the study of natural and artificial systems than that offered by dynamical systems theory. This explains, retrospectively, the reason for the striking success of this theory in physics and engineering such as has been witnessed in the past few centuries. We will identify in precise terms the kinds of systems that may or may not be satisfactorily modeled mechanistically.