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26Natural Selection, Hypercycles and the Origin of LifePSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1988. 1988.Two aspects of the Eigen theory of the origin of life are separated: (i) a theory of evolution at the molecular level, and (ii) the special dynamical properties of hypercycles when that theory is applied to them. It is shown that the former can be applied to a variety of molecular systems which then satisfy Lewontin's criteria for evolution by natural selection. This insight is used to show how, at the molecular level, this theory of natural selection can be used to provide physical warrants for…Read more
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Husserl's Role in Carnap's Der Raum. InIn Thomas Bonk (ed.), Language, Truth and Knowledge: Contributions to the Philosophy of Rudolf Carnap, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 179--190. 2003.
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2Philosophers are drawn to the Atomic Theory like a dog to an old shoe, but my results about realism and anti-realism in Tracking Truth, and the distinctive position I have carved out on their basis, are independent of the fate of my comments about that historical case. I will defend those comments against Stanford’s objections below, but first I will explain the argument of my chapter, because its results undermine not only historically important antirealist positions, but also the approach via …Read more
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10Form and function in the molecularization of biologyIn Alfred I. Tauber (ed.), The elusive synthesis: aesthetics and science, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 153--168. 1996.
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92Coherence, entanglement, and reductionist explanation in quantum physics,"In A. Ashtekar (ed.), Revisiting the Foundations of Relativistic Physics, . pp. 523--542. 2003.The scope and nature of reductionist explanation in quantum physics is analyzed, with special attention being paid to the situation in quantum physics
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Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction (review)Environmental Ethics 30 101-104. 2008.
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33Structural Realism in BiologyCroatian Journal of Philosophy 20 (1): 35-62. 2020.Structural realism holds that ontological commitments induced by successful scientific theories should focus on the structures rather than the objects posited by the theories. Thus structural realism goes beyond the empirical adequacy criterion of traditional (or constructive) empiricism. It also attempts to avoid the problems scientific realism faces in contexts of radical theory change accompanied by discordant shifts in posited theoretical objects. Structural realism emerged in the context of…Read more
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6© 2015.This document a59Summary of the discussions and conclusions following from Dark Matter @ LHC 2014, held at Merton College, Oxford, on September 25-27, 2014. outlines a set of simplified models for dark matter and its interactions with Standard Model particles. It is intended to summarize the main characteristics that these simplified models have when applied to dark matter searches at the LHC, and to provide a number of useful expressions for reference. The list of models includes both s-…Read more
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17Habitat reconstruction: Moving beyond historical fidelityIn Kevin deLaplante, Bryson Brown & Kent A. Peacock (eds.), Philosophy of ecology, North-holland. pp. 11--327. 2011.
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12On the Possibility of Directed Mutations in Bacteria: Statistical Analyses and Reductionist StrategiesPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1990. 1990.The ongoing controversy about the possibility of directed mutations in bacteria is examined for its methodological, and thereby philosophical, implications. The method of fluctuation analysis, widely used to investigate whether mutations are random or directed, is described and subjected to a conceptual critique which shows that it cannot decide whether some mutations are directed while most are random. In this context, recent experiments that exploit this possibility to suggest that directed mu…Read more
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34The Selection of Alleles and the Additivity of VariancePSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1994. 1994.It is shown that, for technical reasons, the additivity of variance criterion employed by Lloyd (1988) to define a unit of selection is, in almost all models of selection, inconsistent with the possibility that genes are sometimes not the unit of selection. A case when the latter view is particularly attractive is that of heterosis, and the additivity criterion is inadequate in even such an extreme case. The connection between that criterion and the so-called "fundamental theorem of natural sele…Read more
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22The principle of complementarity in the design of reserve networks to conserve biodiversity: a preliminary historyJournal of Biosciences 27 421-435. 2001.Explicit, quantitative procedures for identifying biodiversity priority areas are replacing the often ad hoc procedures used in the past to design networks of reserves to conserve biodiversity. This change facilitates more informed choices by policy makers, and thereby makes possible greater satisfaction of conservation goals with increased efficiency. A key feature of these procedures is the use of the principle of complementarity, which ensures that areas chosen for inclusion in a reserve netw…Read more
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23estimated surrogates for biodiversity. Using data setsfrom Quebec and Queensland, zve applied four methods to assess the extent to zvhich environmental surrogates can represent biodiversity components: (1) surrogacy graphs; (2) marginal representation plots; (3) Hamming distance function; and (4) Syj rala statistical test for..
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From ecological diversity to biodiversityIn David L. Hull & Michael Ruse (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Biology, Cambridge University Press. 2007.
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87Review of Steve Fuller, Science V. Religion? Intelligent Design and the Problem of Evolution (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2008 (8). 2008.
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74A standard norm of reaction (NoR) is a graphical depiction of the phenotypic value of some trait of an individual genotype in a population as a function of an environmental parameter. NoRs thus depict the phenotypic plasticity of a trait. The topological properties of NoRs for sets of different genotypes can be used to infer the presence of (non-linear) genotype-environment interactions. While it is clear that many NoRs are adaptive, it is not yet settled whether their evolutionary etiology shou…Read more
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Game theoryIn Sahotra Sarkar & Jessica Pfeifer (eds.), The Philosophy of Science: An Encyclopedia, Routledge. 2005.
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18What Is, and What Good Is, Fitness? Reflections on Takacs and BourratBiological Theory 1-2. forthcoming.
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25CRISPR and Cut-and-Paste Genetics: A SummaryIn Michael Boylan (ed.), International Public Health Policy and Ethics, Springer Verlag. pp. 341-347. 2023.In 1990 the Human Genome Project (HGP) was initiated with much fanfare as biology’s new Big Science project.
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19Cut-and-Paste Genetics: A Response to Newman and BaxterIn Michael Boylan (ed.), International Public Health Policy and Ethics, Springer Verlag. pp. 369-376. 2023.Newman objects to human germ-line editingGerm-line editing on both philosophical and practical grounds. While the philosophical grounds are compelling, I argue that they are not sufficiently strong to exclude all germ-line editingGerm-line editing to eliminate genetic diseasesGenetic disease. However, the practical reasons he offers preclude germ-line editing except in very limited circumstances. I argue that my requirement of gene specificityGene specificity in Cut-and-Paste Genetics can addres…Read more
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22A Crispr Revolution: The Brave New World of Cut-and-Paste GeneticsRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2021.The emergence of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has revolutionized gene editing and made both gene therapy and eugenic control of future human evolution plausible. This accessible book puts these developments in their historical and scientific contexts and analyzes the policy and ethical challenges they raise. It presents the case for altering the human germ-line to eliminate a large number of genetic diseases controlled by a single or few genes, while pointing out that gene therapy is likely to ineffec…Read more
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25A Brave New Eugenics?: Crispr and the Human FutureRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2021.The emergence of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has revolutionized gene editing and made both gene therapy and eugenic control of future human evolution plausible. This accessible book puts these developments in their historical and scientific contexts and analyzes the policy and ethical challenges they raise. It presents the case for altering the human germ-line to eliminate a large number of genetic diseases controlled by a single or few genes, while pointing out that gene therapy is likely to ineffec…Read more
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12A Companion to the Philosophy of Biology (edited book)Wiley/Blackwell. 2008.Comprised of essays by top scholars in the field, this volume offers detailed overviews of philosophical issues raised by biology. Brings together a team of eminent scholars to explore the philosophical issues raised by biology Addresses traditional and emerging topics, spanning molecular biology and genetics, evolution, developmental biology, immunology, ecology, mind and behaviour, neuroscience, and experimentation Begins with a thorough introduction to the field Goes beyond previous treatment…Read more
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4Science & Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: Basic Works of Logical Empiricism (edited book)Routledge. 1996.First published in 1942. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company
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81The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Biodiversity (edited book)Routledge. 2017.Biological diversity - or ‘biodiversity’ - is the degree of variation of life within an ecosystem. It is a relatively new topic of study but has grown enormously in recent years. Because of its interdisciplinary nature the very concept of biodiversity is the subject of debate amongst philosophers, biologists, geographers and environmentalists. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Biodiversity is an outstanding reference source to the key topics and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising…Read more