University of Leeds
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science
PhD
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  •  614
    Re-examining the Gene in Personalized Genomics
    Science & Education 22 (10): 2529-2546. 2013.
    Personalized genomics companies (PG; also called ‘direct-to-consumer genetics’) are businesses marketing genetic testing to consumers over the Internet. While much has been written about these new businesses, little attention has been given to their roles in science communication. This paper provides an analysis of the gene concept presented to customers and the relation between the information given and the science behind PG. Two quite different gene concepts are present in company rhetoric, bu…Read more
  •  6
    No Title available: Reviews
    Philosophy 88 (3): 487-493. 2013.
  •  1118
    How do Somatic Markers Feature in Decision Making?
    Emotion Review 7 (1): 81-89. 2015.
    Several recent criticisms of the somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) identify multiple ambiguities in the way it has been formulated by its chief proponents. Here we provide evidence that this hypothesis has also been interpreted in various different ways by the scientific community. Our diagnosis of this problem is that SMH lacks an adequate computational-level account of practical decision making. Such an account is necessary for drawing meaningful links between neurological- and psychological-lev…Read more
  •  336
    Two Myths about Somatic Markers
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 64 (3): 455-484. 2013.
    Research on patients with damage to ventromedial frontal cortices suggests a key role for emotions in practical decision making. This field of investigation is often associated with Antonio Damasio’s Somatic Marker Hypothesis—a putative account of the mechanism through which autonomic tags guide decision making in typical individuals. Here we discuss two questionable assumptions—or ‘myths’—surrounding the direction and interpretation of this research. First, it is often assumed that there is a s…Read more
  •  371
    Biochemical Kinds
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (2). 2014.
    Chemical kinds (e.g. gold) are generally treated as having timelessly fixed identities. Biological kinds (e.g. goldfinches) are generally treated as evolved and/or evolving entities. So what kind of kind is a biochemical kind? This paper defends the thesis that biochemical molecules are clustered chemical kinds, some of which–namely, evolutionarily conserved units–are also biological kinds.On this thesis, a number of difficulties that have recently occupied philosophers concerned with proteins a…Read more
  •  61
    Biochemical Kinds
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 67 (2): 531-551. 2016.
    Chemical kinds are generally treated as having timelessly fixed identities. Biological kinds are generally treated as evolved and/or evolving entities. So what kind of kind is a biochemical kind? This article defends the thesis that biochemical molecules are clustered chemical kinds, some of which—namely, evolutionarily conserved units—are also biological kinds. On this thesis, a number of difficulties that have recently occupied philosophers concerned with proteins and kinds are shown to be eit…Read more