Biology and Feminism
A Philosophical Introduction

A balanced and accessible introduction to the engagements that feminist scientists and science scholars undertake with a variety of biological sciences.

Lynn Hankinson Nelson (Author)

9781107462038, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 September 2017

276 pages, 9 b/w illus.
24.5 x 17.4 x 1.5 cm, 0.51 kg

'This text is suitable for classroom use because it gives a clear demonstration of the methods of philosophy of science, providing organized coverage of fundamental topics while vividly showing that legitimate critiques of logical reasoning in science are informed by social and political understanding.' Evelyn Brister, Metascience

This book provides a unique introduction to the study of relationships between gender and biology, a core part of the feminist science research tradition which emerged nearly half a century ago. Lynn Hankinson Nelson presents an accessible and balanced discussion of research questions, background assumptions, methods, and hypotheses about biology and gender with which feminist scientists and science scholars critically and constructively engage. Writing from the perspective of contemporary philosophy of science, she examines the evidence for and ethical implications of biological hypotheses about gender, and discusses relevant philosophical issues including understandings of scientific objectivity, the nature of scientific reasoning, and relationships between biological research and the scientific and social contexts in which it is pursued. Clear and comprehensive, this volume addresses the engagements of feminist scientists and science scholars with a range of disciplines, including developmental and evolutionary biology, medicine, neurobiology, and primatology.

List of figures
Acknowledgements
Preface
1. Conceptual preliminaries
2. Sexual selection: Darwin
3. Sexual selection: parental investment theory and human sociobiology
4. Primatology
5. Developmental biology
6. Medicine
7. Neurobiology
8. Evolutionary psychology
9. Socially responsible science and socially relevant philosophy of science
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Medical anthropology [PSXM], Bio-ethics [PSAD], Biology, life sciences [PS], Philosophy of science [PDA], Gender studies: women [JFSJ1], Gender studies, gender groups [JFSJ]