Biology and Epistemology

This book, first published in 2000, explores a range of diverse issues in the intersection of biology and epistemology.

Richard Creath (Edited by), Jane Maienschein (Edited by)

9780521592901, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 September 1999

314 pages, 4 b/w illus.
23.7 x 15.9 x 2.3 cm, 0.555 kg

"...this diverse and challenging book leaves nothing to wish for. Biology and Epistemology is a notable contribution to the philosophy of science which persuasively shows why biology will be 'the next big thing.'" Philosophy in Review

First published in 2000, this set of essays by some of the best names in philosophy of science explores a range of diverse issues in the intersection of biology and epistemology. It asks whether the study of life requires a special biological approach to knowledge and concludes that it does not. The studies, taken together, help to develop and deepen our understanding of how biology works and what counts as warranted knowledge and as legitimate approaches to the study of life. The first section deals with the nature of evidence and evolutionary theory as it came to dominate nineteenth-century philosophy of science; the second and third parts deal with the impact of laboratory and experimental research. This is an impressive team of authors, bringing together some of the most distinguished philosophers of science. The volume will interest professionals and graduate students in biology and the history and philosophy of science.

Introduction Richard Creath and Jane Maienschein
1. Darwin and the philosophers: epistemological factors in the development and reception of the theory of the Origin of Species Michael Ruse
2. Knowing about life: Darwin and his theory of natural selection Jon Hodge
3. Why did Darwin fail? The role of John Stuart Mill David L. Hull
4. The epistemology of historical interpretation: progressivity and recapitulation in Darwin's Theory Robert J. Richards
5. Down the Primrose Path: competing epistemologies in early twentieth-century biology David Magnus
6. Competing epistemologies and developmental biology Jane Maienschein
7. From imaging to believing: epistemic issues in generating biological data William Bechtel
8. The logic of discovery: in the experimental life sciences Frederic L. Holmes
9. What do population geneticists know and how do they know it? R. C. Lewontin
10. Experimentation, realism, and the historical character of science Marga Vicedo
11. Making sense of life: explanation in developmental biology Evelyn Fox Keller
12. Toward an epistemology for biological pluralism Helen E. Longino
13. Biology and epistemology: emerging themes Kenneth F. Schaffner.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]