•  359
    Paleontology: Outrunning Time
    Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science 326 211-235. 2017.
    In this paper, I discuss several temporal aspects of paleontology from a philosophical perspective. I begin by presenting the general problem of “taming” deep time to make it comprehensible at a human scale, starting with the traditional geologic time scale: an event-based, relative time scale consisting of a hierarchy of chronological units. Not only does the relative timescale provide a basis for reconstructing many of the general features of the history of life, but it is also consonant with …Read more
  •  336
    Methodology and ontology in microbiome research
    Biological Theory 9 (4): 392-400. 2014.
    Research on the human microbiome has gen- erated a staggering amount of sequence data, revealing variation in microbial diversity at the community, species (or phylotype), and genomic levels. In order to make this complexity more manageable and easier to interpret, new units—the metagenome, core microbiome, and entero- type—have been introduced in the scientific literature. Here, I argue that analytical tools and exploratory statisti- cal methods, coupled with a translational imperative, are the…Read more
  •  332
    From metagenomics to the metagenome: Conceptual change and the rhetoric of translational genomic research
    with Eric Thomas Juengst
    Genomics, Society, and Policy 5 (3): 1-19. 2009.
    As the international genomic research community moves from the tool-making efforts of the Human Genome Project into biomedical applications of those tools, new metaphors are being suggested as useful to understanding how our genes work – and for understanding who we are as biological organisms. In this essay we focus on the Human Microbiome Project as one such translational initiative. The HMP is a new ‘metagenomic’ research effort to sequence the genomes of human microbiological flora, in order…Read more
  •  322
    Deaf, Not Invisible: Sign Language Interpreting in a Global Pandemic
    American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience 12 (4): 280-283. 2021.
  •  222
    Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has argued that rock and roll happens from the neck down. In this contribution to The Rolling Stones and Philosophy, edited by Luke Dick and George Reisch, I draw on neuroscience to argue that, in the parlance of John Stuart Mill, rock and roll is both a higher and a lower pleasure.
  •  192
    Other Minds (review)
    Quarterly Review of Biology 93 (2): 159. 2018.
  •  24
    Popular Culture and Philosophy: Rules of Engagement
    Essays in Philosophy 15 (1): 19-32. 2014.
    The exploration of popular culture topics by academic philosophers for non-academic audiences has given rise to a distinctive genre of philosophical writing. Edited volumes with titles such as Black Sabbath and Philosophy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy contain chapters by multiple philosophical authors that attempt to bring philosophy to popular audiences. Two dominant models have emerged in the genre. On the pedagogical model, authors use popular culture examples to teach the reader…Read more
  •  22
    GINA and Preemployment Criminal Background Checks
    with Shawneequa L. Callier and Eric T. Juengst
    Hastings Center Report 40 (1): 15-19. 2010.
  •  17
    From metagenomics to the metagenome: Conceptual change and the rhetoric of translational genomic research
    with Eric Juengst
    Genomics, Society and Policy 5 (3): 1-19. 2009.
    As the international genomic research community moves from the tool-making efforts of the Human Genome Project into biomedical applications of those tools, new metaphors are being suggested as useful to understanding how our genes work - and for understanding who we are as biological organisms. In this essay we focus on the Human Microbiome Project as one such translational initiative. The HMP is a new 'metagenomic' research effort to sequence the genomes of human microbiological flora, in order…Read more
  •  13
    Methodology and Ontology in Microbiome Research
    Biological Theory 9 (4): 1-11. 2014.
    Research on the human microbiome has generated a staggering amount of sequence data, revealing variation in microbial diversity at the community, species (or phylotype), and genomic levels. In order to make this complexity more manageable and easier to interpret, new units—the metagenome, core microbiome, and enterotype—have been introduced in the scientific literature. Here, I argue that analytical tools and exploratory statistical methods, coupled with a translational imperative, are the prima…Read more
  •  13
    Essays explore philosophical themes in The Planet of the Apes films including human-animal relationships, science and ethics.
  •  6
    Die Philosophie bei Johnny Cash (edited book)
    Wiley. 2009.
    Musiker, Freigeist, Drogensüchtiger, Stimme der Schwachen und Entrechteten, Christ, Familienmensch, Sänger von Liebe, Gott und Mord. Viel gibt es über Johnny Cash zu sagen, man kann es aber auch auf eine einfache Formel bringen: Er war der "Man in Black". Er sang vor Schwerverbrechern in Saint-Quentin, für Richard Nixon und alle amerikanischen Präsidenten nach ihm. Er verzweifelte an der Liebe zu June Carter und fand später mit ihr seine Erfüllung. Er förderte Musiker wie Bob Dylan und Kris Kris…Read more
  •  5
    Book Forum
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 104 (C): 1-2. 2024.
  •  2
    In Planet of the Apes and Philosophy (edited book)
    Open Court Chicago. 2013.
    Essays explore philosophical themes in The Planet of the Apes films including human-animal relationships, science and ethics.
  • The introduction of computer simulation to paleobiology ushered in a new, experimental style of reasoning. Rather than starting with observed fossil patterns and hypothesizing causal processes that may have produced them, it became possible to start with a process model, and from it to simulate a range of possible patterns. ;The MBL Model is a stochastic model of phylogenetic evolution . Computer simulations conducted with the MBL Model served as thought experiments in stochastic evolution. In t…Read more
  • Johnny Cash and Philosophy: Burning Ring of Truth (edited book)
    with David Werther
    Open Court. 2008.
  • The Head and the Groin of Rock
    In George Reisch, Dickson Dickson & Luke Dick (eds.), The Rolling Stones and Philosophy: It's Just a Thought Away, Open Court. pp. 57-66. 2011.
  • Deaf, Not Invisible: Sign Language Interpreting in a Global Pandemic
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 12 (4): 280-283. 2021.
    One of us is in translation and interpreting studies, and has written on collaborative translation, and the other in philosophy of medicine. In our open peer commentary, we will focus attention on...