-
52Discussion: Species are individuals—or are they?Philosophy of Science 70 (1): 49-56. 2003.Recently Coleman and Wiley presented a new defense of the species-are-individuals thesis, based on an analysis of the use of binomial species names by biologists. Here I point out some problems in their defense and I argue that although in some domains of biological science species are best understood as individuals, Coleman and Wiley fail to establish that this is true for the whole of biology.
-
81On the nature of the species problem and the four meanings of 'species'Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 36 (1): 135-158. 2005.Present-day thought on the notion of species is troubled by a mistaken understanding of the nature of the issue: while the species problem is commonly understood as concerning the epistemology and ontology of one single scientific concept, I argue that in fact there are multiple distinct concepts at stake. An approach to the species problem is presented that interprets the term ‘species’ as the placeholder for four distinct scientific concepts, each having its own role in biological theory, and …Read more
-
43Current Themes in Theoretical Biology : A Dutch Perspective (edited book)Springer. 2005.This book originated as a Festschrift to mark the publication of Volume 50 of the journal `Acta Biotheoretica' in 2002 and the journal's 70th anniversary in ...
-
172Species in three and four dimensionsSynthese 164 (2): 161-184. 2008.There is an interesting parallel between two debates in different domains of contemporary analytic philosophy. One is the endurantism– perdurantism, or three-dimensionalism vs. four-dimensionalism, debate in analytic metaphysics. The other is the debate on the species problem in philosophy of biology. In this paper I attempt to cross-fertilize these debates with the aim of exploiting some of the potential that the two debates have to advance each other. I address two issues. First, I explore wha…Read more
-
57Fritz Allhoff: Philosophies of the Sciences: A Guide: Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 2010; xi + 371 pp, ISBN: 978-1-4051-995-7 (Pb) (review)Acta Biotheoretica 59 (3-4): 319-325. 2011.Fritz Allhoff: Philosophies of the Sciences: A Guide Content Type Journal Article Category Book Review Pages 319-325 DOI 10.1007/s10441-011-9129-x Authors Thomas A. C. Reydon, Institute of Philosophy & Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Science (ZEWW), Leibniz Universität Hannover, Im Moore 21, 30161 Hannover, Germany Journal Acta Biotheoretica Online ISSN 1572-8358 Print ISSN 0001-5342 Journal Volume Volume 59 Journal Issue Volume 59, Numbers 3-4
-
49MATTHEW H. SLATER Are Species Real? An Essay on the Metaphysics of SpeciesBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 66 (4): 1029-1033. 2015.
-
81Generalizations and kinds in natural science: the case of speciesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 37 (2): 230-255. 2006.Species in biology are traditionally perceived as kinds of organisms about which explanatory and predictive generalizations can be made, and biologists commonly use species in this manner. This perception of species is, however, in stark contrast with the currently accepted view that species are not kinds or classes at all, but individuals. In this paper I investigate the conditions under which the two views of species might be held simultaneously. Specifically, I ask whether upon acceptance of …Read more
-
81Why organizational ecology is not a Darwinian research programPhilosophy of the Social Sciences 39 (3): 408-439. 2009.Organizational ecology is commonly seen as a Darwinian research program that seeks to explain the diversity of organizational structures, properties and behaviors as the product of selection in past social environments in a similar manner as evolutionary biology seeks to explain the forms, properties and behaviors of organisms as consequences of selection in past natural environments. We argue that this explanatory strategy does not succeed because organizational ecology theory lacks an evolutio…Read more
-
37Editorial: A new turn in the study of the origin of lifeActa Biotheoretica 55 (2): 95-96. 2007.This paper compares two approaches that attempt to explain the origin of life, or biogenesis. The more established approach is one based on chemical principles, whereas a new, yet not widely known approach begins from a physical perspective. According to the first approach, life would have begun with—often organic—compounds. After having developed to a certain level of complexity and mutual dependence within a non-compartmentalised organic soup, they would have assembled into a functioning cell.…Read more
-
8Quentin D. Wheeler and Rudolf Meier (Eds.) (2000). Species Concepts and Phylogenetic Theory: A Debate (review)Acta Biotheoretica 50 (2): 137-140. 2002.
-
33Philosophy of biology, German style: Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2005; 457 pp., € 16,-, ISBN 3-518-29345-1 Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2005; 457 pp., € 16,-, ISBN 3-518-29345-1 Review of Ulrich Krohs and Georg Toepfer : Philosophie der Biologie: Eine Einführung [Philosophy of Biology: An Introduction]Biology and Philosophy 22 (4): 619-626. 2007.
-
33Roger Sansom and Robert N. Brandon (eds.): Integrating Evolution and Development: From Theory to Practice Content Type Journal Article Pages 81-86 DOI 10.1007/s10441-010-9121-x Authors Thomas A. C. Reydon, Institute of Philosophy & Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Science (ZEWW), Leibniz Universität Hannover, Im Moore 21, 30167 Hannover, Germany Journal Acta Biotheoretica Online ISSN 1572-8358 Print ISSN 0001-5342 Journal Volume Volume 59 Journal Issue Volume 59, Number 1
-
84Do the Life Sciences Need Natural Kinds?Croatian Journal of Philosophy 9 (2): 167-190. 2009.Natural kinds have been a constant topic in philosophy throughout its history, but many issues pertaining to natural kinds still remain unresolved. This paper considers one of these issues: the epistemic role of natural kinds in scientific investigation. I begin by clarifying what is at stake for an individual scientific field when asking whether or not the field studies a natural kind. I use an example from life science, concerning how biologists explain the similar body shapes of fish and ceta…Read more
-
13David N. Stamos (2003). The Species Problem: Biological Species, Ontology, and the Metaphysics of Biology (review)Acta Biotheoretica 52 (3): 229-232. 2004.
-
52Quentin D. Wheeler and Rudolf Meier (eds.) (2000). Species concepts and phylogenetic theory: A debateActa Biotheoretica 50 (2): 137-140. 2002.
-
4EditorialJournal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 48 (1): 1-2. 2017.
-
60The more one reads about the topic of natural kinds, the more one is reminded of that famous scene in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in which Deep Thought—after a mere 7.5 million years of doing calculations—reveals that the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything was 42. Faced with bewildered reactions from the eager audience, Deep Thought explains: “I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is” .In…Read more
-
17Generalizations and kinds in natural science: the case of speciesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 37 (2): 230-255. 2004.
-
12De moeizame verhouding van filosofie en ICT: een verslag van de 22e Nederlands-Vlaamse filosofiedag Leiden, 28 oktober 2000 (review)Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 93 (2): 146-149. 2001.
-
44Organizational Ecology: No Darwinian Evolution After All. A Rejoinder to LemosPhilosophy of the Social Sciences 40 (3): 504-512. 2010.In a recent article we argued that organizational ecology is not a Darwinian research program. John Lemos criticized our argumentation on various counts. Here we reply to some of Lemos’s criticisms
-
100Natural Kinds in Philosophy and in the Life Sciences: Scholastic Twilight or New Dawn? (review)Biological Theory 7 (2): 89-99. 2013.This article, which is intended both as a position paper in the philosophical debate on natural kinds and as the guest editorial to this thematic issue, takes up the challenge posed by Ian Hacking in his paper, “Natural Kinds: Rosy Dawn, Scholastic Twilight.” Whereas a straightforward interpretation of that paper suggests that according to Hacking the concept of natural kinds should be abandoned, both in the philosophy of science and in philosophy more generally, we suggest that an alternative a…Read more
-
Sandra D. Mitchell, Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism (review)Philosophy in Review 24 276-279. 2004.
-
Universität HannoverInstitute of Philosophy
Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences (CELLS)Professor
Leiden University
PhD, 2005
East Lansing, MI, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Biology |
General Philosophy of Science |
Metaphysics |
Areas of Interest
1 more
Philosophy of Biology |
Metaphysics |
Epistemology |
Metaphilosophy |
Philosophy of Social Science |
General Philosophy of Science |