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15Epigenetic this, epigenetic that: comparing two digital humanities methods for analyzing a slippery scientific termSynthese 202 (3): 1-55. 2023.We compared two digital humanities methods in the analysis of a contested scientific term. “Epigenetics” is as enigmatic as it is popular. Some authors argue that its meaning has diluted over time as this term has come to describe a widening range of entities and mechanisms (Haig, International Journal of Epidemiology 41:13–16, 2012). Others propose both a Waddingtonian “broad sense” and a mechanistic “narrow sense” definition to capture its various scientific uses (Stotz and Griffiths, History …Read more
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14Correction to: Transposon dynamics and the epigenetic switch hypothesisTheoretical Medicine and Bioethics 44 (1): 103-104. 2023.
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8Transposon dynamics and the epigenetic switch hypothesisTheoretical Medicine and Bioethics 42 (3): 137-154. 2021.The recent explosion of interest in epigenetics is often portrayed as the dawning of a scientific revolution that promises to transform biomedical science along with developmental and evolutionary biology. Much of this enthusiasm surrounds what we call the epigenetic switch hypothesis, which regards certain examples of epigenetic inheritance as an adaptive organismal response to environmental change. This interpretation overlooks an alternative explanation in terms of coevolutionary dynamics bet…Read more
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21Does Art Bring Us Together? An Empirical Approach to the Evolutionary Aesthetics of Ellen DissanayakeBiological Theory 15 (4): 188-195. 2020.Over the last several decades Ellen Dissanayake has developed an evolutionary theory of art that views all art as having evolved for the function of promoting group cohesion. This theory is not without its critics, yet it has received little empirical attention. In this article I propose a more modest formulation of Dissanayake’s hypothesis and proceed to test it using a cross-cultural analysis. I rely on the ethnographic databases of the electronic Human Relations Area Files as well as the Stan…Read more
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