•  1044
    In their 2010 book, Biology’s First Law, D. McShea and R. Brandon present a principle that they call ‘‘ZFEL,’’ the zero force evolutionary law. ZFEL says (roughly) that when there are no evolutionary forces acting on a population, the population’s complexity (i.e., how diverse its member organisms are) will increase. Here we develop criticisms of ZFEL and describe a different law of evolution; it says that diversity and complexity do not change when there are no evolutionary causes.
  •  342
    Climate Change and Conservation Biology as it Relates to Urban Environments
    Recerca.Revista de Pensament I Anàlisi 25 (2). 2020.
    Climate change continues to have recognizable impacts across the globe, as weather patterns shift and impacts accumulate and intensify. In this wider context, urban areas face significant challenges as they attempt to mitigate dynamic changes at the local level — changes such as those caused by intensifying weather events, the disruption of critical supplies, and the deterioration of local ecosystems. One field that could help urban areas address these challenges is conservation biology. However…Read more
  •  33
    Climate Modeling
    Environmental Philosophy 12 (2): 221-252. 2015.
    Despite overwhelming evidence that climate change is real and represents a serious challenge for human flourishing, many still hold that climate change is not a credible threat—including a surprising number of broadcast meteorologists. In this article, we look at the logic that underwrites such an attitude, which typically appeals to a distrust of climate models, natural variability, or the presence of a conspiracy. Using a model selection framework, championed by Elliott Sober and Malcolm Forst…Read more
  •  26
    Uncertainty, Bias, and Equipoise: A New Approach to the Ethics of Clinical Research
    with William P. Kabasenche
    Theoretical and Applied Ethics 3 (1): 35-59. 2014.
    The concept of equipoise is considered by many to be part of the ethical justification for using human subjects in clinical research. In general, equipoise indicates some uncertainty about the relative merits of the experimental intervention compared to existing treatments. Relieving this uncertainty gives scientific value to an experiment, thereby making the risks to human subjects in the trial acceptable, other considerations notwithstanding. But characterizing equipoise remains controversial …Read more
  •  81
    Corporate entrepreneurs -- described in the academic literature as those managers or employees who do not follow the status quo of their co-workers -- are depicted as visionaries who dream of taking the company in new directions. As a result, though, in overcoming internal obstacles to reaching their professional goals they can often walk a fine line between clever resourcefulness and outright rule breaking. A framework is presented as a guideline for middle managers and organizations seeking to…Read more
  •  29
    Stakeholder Salience and Ethical Views of Small Business Managers
    with Brian K. Burton
    Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society 16 306-309. 2005.
    This study investigates possible links between small-business managers’ perceptions of stakeholder salience and their views of the ethicality of business decisions. Results indicate few if any links between the two concepts exist. They provide evidence that small-business managers make decisions in line with internal viewpoints rather than external pressures.
  •  54
    The multiple-models approach, which has its origins in Levins’s work, is gaining broader acceptance among philosophers. Levins asserted that there is a trade-off between modeling desiderata, which justified the multiple-models approach through two separate justificatory paths. Some attention has been paid to the trade-off thesis, culminating in a paper by Matthewson and Weisberg. However, no attention has been paid to how the trade-off is supposed to justify the multiple-models approach. I argue…Read more
  •  55
    The Golden Rule and Business Ethics: An Examination
    with Brian K. Burton
    Journal of Business Ethics 56 (4): 371-383. 2005.
    The phenomenon of globalization of markets has been accompanied by calls for a globalization of ethical norms. One principle often referred to in such calls is the so-called Golden Rule. The rule, often stated as Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, has long been used and referenced in the business literature. But those who use it often do so without full realization of the rule itself and what it stands for. This paper examines the history, meaning, and problems of the rule and …Read more
  •  31
    Teaching business ethics through literature
    with Jon M. Shepard and Virginia W. Gerde
    Teaching Business Ethics 1 (1): 33-51. 1997.
  •  51
    The Moral Floor: A Philosophical Examination of the Connection Between Ethics and Business
    with Brian K. Burton
    Journal of Business Ethics 91 (1): 145-154. 2010.
    This paper examines the philosophical basis for the argument that there is a connection between ethical behavior and profitability. Both sides of this argument – that good ethics is good business and that bad ethics is bad business – are explored. The possibility of a moral floor above which ethical behavior is not rewarded is considered, and an economic experiment testing such a proposition is discussed. Johnson & Johnson suffers a potentially devastating blow when some cyanide-laced Tylenol ca…Read more
  •  16
    Inner leadership: A social cognitive-based approach toward enhanced ethical decision making
    with Christopher P. Neck and Virginia W. Gerde
    Teaching Business Ethics 2 (3): 229-247. 1998.