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19Post-Darwinian fish classifications: theories and methodologies of Günther, Cope, and GillHistory and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 45 (1): 1-37. 2023.We analyze the relationship between evolutionary theory and classification of higher taxa in the work of three ichthyologists: Albert C.L.G. Günther (1830–1914), Edward Drinker Cope (1840–1897), and Theodore Gill (1837–1914). The progress of ichthyology in the early years following the Origin has received little attention from historians, and offers an opportunity to further evaluate the extent to which evolutionary theorizing influenced published views on systematic methodology. These three ich…Read more
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27Transparency and secrecy in citizen science: Lessons from herpingStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 85 (C): 208-217. 2021.
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24Diagnosing Discordance: Signal in Data, Conflict in ParadigmsPhilosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology 11. 2019.Sterner and Lidgard urge that philosophers of phylogenetics move beyond the “systematics wars”, referring to the 1960s–80s debates between numerical taxonomists, evolutionary taxonomists, and phylogenetic systematists. Indeed, philosophers would do well to move beyond those wars, and to focus even more recently than the parsimony versus likelihood debates of the 1980s–90s. In this paper I use integrated historical-philosophical analysis of those debates to clarify a contemporary dispute between …Read more
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The Last Tasmanian Tiger: The History and Extinction of the Thylacine (review)Journal of Mammalogy 86 639. 2005.
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Tasmanian Tiger – the Tragic Tale of How the World Lost its Most Mysterious Predator (review)Journal of Mammalogy 86 639-640. 2005.
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Taxonomic revision of the olingos (Bassaricyon), with description of a new species, the OlinguitoZookeys 1 (324): 1-83. 2013.We present the first comprehensive taxonomic revision and review the biology of the olingos, the endemic Neotropical procyonid genus Bassaricyon, based on most specimens available in museums, and with data derived from anatomy, morphometrics, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, field observations, and geographic range modeling. Species of Bassaricyon are primarily forest-living, arboreal, nocturnal, frugivorous, and solitary, and have one young at a time. We demonstrate that four olingo species can b…Read more
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50William Whewell’s philosophy of architecture and the historicization of biologyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 1 (59): 11-19. 2016.William Whewell’s work on historical science has received some attention from historians and philosophers of science. Whewell’s own work on the history of German Gothic church architecture has been touched on within the context of the history of architecture. To a large extent these discussions have been conducted separately. I argue that Whewell intended his work on Gothic architecture as an attempt to (help) found a science of historical architecture, as an exemplar of historical science. I pr…Read more
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277Run the experiment, publish the study, close the sale: Commercialized biomedical researchDe Ethica 2 (3): 5-21. 2016.Business models for biomedical research prescribe decentralization due to market selection pressures. I argue that decentralized biomedical research does not match four normative philosophical models of the role of values in science. Non-epistemic values affect the internal stages of for-profit biomedical science. Publication planning, effected by Contract Research Organizations, inhibits mechanisms for transformative criticism. The structure of contracted research precludes attribution of respo…Read more
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67Whewell on classification and consilienceStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 1 (64): 65-74. 2017.In this paper I sketch William Whewell’s attempts to impose order on classificatory mineralogy, which was in Whewell’s day (1794e1866) a confused science of uncertain prospects. Whewell argued that progress was impeded by the crude reductionist assumption that all macroproperties of crystals could be straightforwardly explained by reference to the crystals’ chemical constituents. By comparison with biological classification, Whewell proposed methodological reforms that he claimed would lead …Read more
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41When is a cladist not a cladist?Biology and Philosophy 32 (4): 581-598. 2017.The term “cladist” has distinct meanings in distinct contexts. Communication between philosophers, historians, and biologists has been hindered by different understandings of the term in various contexts. In this paper I trace historical and conceptual connections between several broadly distinct senses of the term “cladist”. I propose seven specific definitions that capture distinct contemporary uses. This serves to disambiguate some cases where the meaning is unclear, and will help resolve app…Read more
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27Charles Girard: Relationships and Representation in Nineteenth Century SystematicsJournal of the History of Biology 50 (3): 609-643. 2017.Early nineteenth century systematists sought to describe what they called the Natural System or the Natural Classification. In the nineteenth century, there was no agreement about the basis of observed patterns of similarity between organisms. What did these systematists think they were doing, when they named taxa, proposed relationships between taxa, and arranged taxa into representational schemes? In this paper I explicate Charles Frederic Girard’s (1822–1895) theory and method of systematics.…Read more
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75Phylogenetic inference to the best explanation and the bad lot argumentSynthese 193 (9). 2016.I respond to the bad lot argument in the context of biological systematics. The response relies on the historical nature of biological systematics and on the availability of pattern explanations. The basic assumption of common descent enables systematic methodology to naturally generate candidate explanatory hypotheses. However, systematists face a related challenge in the issue of character analysis. Character analysis is the central problem for contemporary systematics, yet the general problem…Read more
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