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168Typology Reconfigured: From the Metaphysics of Essentialism to the Epistemology of RepresentationActa Biotheoretica 57 (1-2): 51-75. 2008.The goal of this paper is to encourage a reconfiguration of the discussion about typology in biology away from the metaphysics of essentialism and toward the epistemology of classifying natural phenomena for the purposes of empirical inquiry. First, I briefly review arguments concerning ‘typological thinking’, essentialism, species, and natural kinds, highlighting their predominantly metaphysical nature. Second, I use a distinction between the aims, strategies, and tactics of science to suggest …Read more
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95Idealization in evolutionary developmental investigation: a tension between phenotypic plasticity and normal stagesPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 365. 2010.Idealization is a reasoning strategy that biologists use to describe, model and explain that purposefully departs from features known to be present in nature. Similar to other strategies of scientific reasoning, idealization combines distinctive strengths alongside of latent weaknesses. The study of ontogeny in model organisms is usually executed by establishing a set of normal stages for embryonic development, which enables researchers in different laboratory contexts to have standardized compa…Read more
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131Microbes modeling ontogenyBiology and Philosophy 28 (2): 161-188. 2013.Model organisms are central to contemporary biology and studies of embryogenesis in particular. Biologists utilize only a small number of species to experimentally elucidate the phenomena and mechanisms of development. Critics have questioned whether these experimental models are good representatives of their targets because of the inherent biases involved in their selection (e.g., rapid development and short generation time). A standard response is that the manipulative molecular techniques ava…Read more
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91Dimensions of integration in interdisciplinary explanations of the origin of evolutionary noveltyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 44 (4): 537-550. 2013.Many philosophers of biology have embraced a version of pluralism in response to the failure of theory reduction but overlook how concepts, methods, and explanatory resources are in fact coordinated, such as in interdisciplinary research where the aim is to integrate different strands into an articulated whole. This is observable for the origin of evolutionary novelty—a complex problem that requires a synthesis of intellectual resources from different fields to arrive at robust answers to multip…Read more
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58Evolutionary morphology and evo-devo: hierarchy and noveltyTheory in Biosciences 124. 2006.Although the role of morphology in evolutionary theory remains a subject of debate, assessing the contributions of morphological investigation to evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-devo) is a more circumscribed issue of direct relevance to ongoing research. Historical studies of morphologically oriented researchers and the formation of the Modern Synthesis in the Anglo-American context identify a recurring theme: the synthetic theory of evolution did not capture multiple levels of biologica…Read more
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130Proceedings of the Pittsburgh Workshop in History and Philosophy of Biology, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, March 23-24 2001 Session 4: Evolutionary Indeterminism.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
| Philosophy of Biology |
| General Philosophy of Science |
Areas of Interest
| Philosophy of Biology |
| General Philosophy of Science |