-
545What’s so special about model organisms?Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 42 (2): 313-323. 2011.This paper aims to identify the key characteristics of model organisms that make them a specific type of model within the contemporary life sciences: in particular, we argue that the term “model organism” does not apply to all organisms used for the purposes of experimental research. We explore the differences between experimental and model organisms in terms of their material and epistemic features, and argue that it is essential to distinguish between their representational scope and represent…Read more
-
90Re-thinking organisms: The impact of databases on model organism biologyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (1): 29-36. 2012.Community databases have become crucial to the collection, ordering and retrieval of data gathered on model organisms, as well as to the ways in which these data are interpreted and used across a range of research contexts. This paper analyses the impact of community databases on research practices in model organism biology by focusing on the history and current use of four community databases: FlyBase, Mouse Genome Informatics, WormBase and The Arabidopsis Information Resource. We discuss the s…Read more
-
104Integrating data to acquire new knowledge: Three modes of integration in plant scienceStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 44 (4): 503-514. 2013.This paper discusses what it means and what it takes to integrate data in order to acquire new knowledge about biological entities and processes. Maureen O’Malley and Orkun Soyer have pointed to the scientific work involved in data integration as important and distinct from the work required by other forms of integration, such as methodological and explanatory integration, which have been more successful in captivating the attention of philosophers of science. Here I explore what data integratio…Read more
-
35Focusing on scientific understandingIn Henk De Regt, Sabina Leonelli & Kai Eigner (eds.), Scientific Understanding: Philosophical Perspectives, University of Pittsburgh Press. 2009.
-
34Bioethics Authorship in Context: How Trends in Biomedicine Challenge BioethicsAmerican Journal of Bioethics 11 (10). 2011.The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 11, Issue 10, Page 22-24, October 2011
-
237What Counts as Scientific Data? A Relational FrameworkPhilosophy of Science 82 (5): 810-821. 2015.This paper proposes an account of scientific data that makes sense of recent debates on data-driven and ‘big data’ research, while also building on the history of data production and use particularly within biology. In this view, ‘data’ is a relational category applied to research outputs that are taken, at specific moments of inquiry, to provide evidence for knowledge claims of interest to the researchers involved. They do not have truth-value in and of themselves, nor can they be seen as strai…Read more
-
119On the locality of data and claims about phenomenaPhilosophy of Science 76 (5): 737-749. 2009.Bogen and Woodward characterized data as embedded in the context in which they are produced (‘local’) and claims about phenomena as retaining their significance beyond that context (‘nonlocal’). This view does not fit sciences such as biology, which successfully disseminate data via packaging processes that include appropriate labels, vehicles, and human interventions. These processes enhance the evidential scope of data and ensure that claims about phenomena are understood in the same way acros…Read more
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Biology |
General Philosophy of Science |