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532Evolutionary Epistemology: Two Research Avenues, Three Schools, and A Single and Shared AgendaJournal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 52 (2): 197-209. 2021.This special issue for the Journal for General Philosophy of Science is devoted to exploring the impact and many ramifications of current research in evolutionary epistemology. Evolutionary epistemology is an inter- and multidisciplinary area of research that can be divided into two ever-inclusive research avenues. One research avenue expands on the EEM program and investigates the epistemology of evolution. The other research avenue builds on the EET program and researches the evolution of epis…Read more
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6The Evolution of Scientific LineagesPSA Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1990 (2): 245-254. 1990.The fundamental dialectic of Science as a Process is the interaction between two narrative levels. At one level, the book is a historical narrative of one aspect of one ongoing problem in systematics - the dispute between cladists and more traditional evolutionary taxonomists and amongst the cladists themselves on the correct method of classifying species. This narrative is replete with details of the process whereby scientists promote and publish their ideas. It is an informative and somewhat ‘…Read more
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7Beyond Evolution: Human Nature and the Limits of Evolutionary ExplanationPhilosophical and Phenomenological Research 62 (1): 235-238. 2001.
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5The Moral Status of Animals in Eighteenth-Century British PhilosophyIn , Cambridge University Press. pp. 32-51. 1999.INTRODUCTIONThe contemporary debate over the moral status of animals reflects a mixture of traditions. Utilitarianism, which measures moral standing in terms of the ability to suffer, has been used to defend the widening-circle conception of morality. The difference between humans and other animals vis-à-vis moral standing diminishes in its light. Focusing on questions of agency, conscience, and reflective powers, the differences between humans and nonhumans seem greater. Darwinism has been invo…Read more
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50Scientific Method: The Hypothetico-Experimental Laboratory Procedure of the Physical Sciences (review)Philosophy of Science 40 (3): 467-468. 1973.
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6Normalizing Naturalized EpistemologyThe Paideia Archive: Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 45 35-40. 1998.The most trenchant criticism of naturalistic approaches to epistemology is that they are unable to successfully deal with norms and questions of justification. Epistemology without norms, it is alleged, is epistemology in name only, an endeavor not worth doing. What one makes of this depends on whether one takes epistemology to be worth doing in the first place. However, I shall argue, it is possible to account for justification within a naturalistic framework broadly construed along Quinean lin…Read more
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35The problem of mooted models for analyses of microbiome causalityBiology and Philosophy 34 (6): 1-6. 2019.Lynch, Parke, and O’Malley highlight the need for better evaluative criteria for causal explanations in microbiome research. They propose new interventionist criteria, show that paradigmatic examples of microbiome explanations are flawed using those criteria, and suggest numerous ways microbiome explanations can be improved. While we endorse their primary criticisms and suggestions for improvements in microbiome research, we make several observations regarding the use of mooted causal models in …Read more
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26The problem of mooted models for analyses of microbiome causalityBiology and Philosophy 34 (6): 57. 2019.Lynch, Parke, and O’Malley highlight the need for better evaluative criteria for causal explanations in microbiome research. They propose new interventionist criteria, show that paradigmatic examples of microbiome explanations are flawed using those criteria, and suggest numerous ways microbiome explanations can be improved. While we endorse their primary criticisms and suggestions for improvements in microbiome research, we make several observations regarding the use of mooted causal models in …Read more
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12William D. Casebeer, Natural Ethical Facts: Evolution, Connectionism, and Moral Cognition. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press , x + 214pp., $35.00 (review)Philosophy of Science 71 (4): 620-623. 2004.
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The Secret Chain: Evolution and EthicsBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47 (2): 317-319. 1996.
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17Book Review:Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science Gerd Buchdahl (review)Philosophy of Science 39 (2): 267-. 1972.
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34The development of Russell's structural postulatesPhilosophy of Science 44 (3): 441-463. 1977.From 1914 on Russell's epistemology was dominated by the attempt to show how we come by our knowledge of the external world. As he gradually became aware of the inadequacies of the "pure empiricist" approach, Russell realized that his program was viable only insofar as certain postulates of inference were allowed. In this paper I trace the development of the structural postulates from Analysis of Matter to Human Knowledge. The basic continuity of Russell's thought is established. Certain confusi…Read more
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10The Philosophy of Biology by David L. Hull and Michael Ruse (review)Quarterly Review of Biology 74 (4): 453-454. 1999.
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30Individualism and the unity of science, Harold Kincaid. Rowman & Littlefield, 1997, VII + 165 pages (review)Economics and Philosophy 16 (1): 147-174. 2000.
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11Discussions of the moral status of animals typically address the key questions from an anthropocentric point of view. An alternative approach adopts a non-anthropocentric perspective. In this paper, I explore the theoretical and experimental results which make this approach plausible and address two key questions: [1] to what extent is it proper to speak of the moral lives of non-human animals? [2] How might we empirically establish that animals lead moral lives?
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49Ethics and evolution: The biological basis of moralityInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 36 ( 1-2). 1993.
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35Scaling the metaphorical brick wallBehavioral and Brain Sciences 22 (6): 947-948. 1999.Palmer argues that functionalist accounts of the mind are radically incomplete in virtue of a “metaphorical brick wall” that precludes a complete treatment of qualia. I argue that functionalists should remain unmoved by this line of argument to the effect that their accounts fail to do justice to some “intrinsic” features of experience.
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18Russell's Scientific RealismRussell: The Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies 8 (1): 195-208. 1988.
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24Ayer and Russell on Naive RealismPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1976. 1976.In this article Ayer's criticisms of Russell's defense of scientific realism and his criticisms of Russell's rejection of naive realism are discussed. It is argued that Ayer's criticisms either lack force or depend for their validity on the assumption of existence of a clear cut distinction between conventional and factual issues, an assumption which is question begging with respect to his discussion of Russell.
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41An Information-Theoretic Approach to Evolutionary Epistemology: Information and Meaning in Evolutionary Processes William F. Harms Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004 (review)Biological Theory 1 (4): 431-433. 2006.
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38Metaphors and mechanisms in vehicle-based selection theoryBehavioral and Brain Sciences 17 (4): 612-612. 1994.