Philosophy of Science for Biologists

ISBN-13: 9781108740708 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 340 str.

Kostas Kampourakis; Tobias Uller

Opis

Written for students and researchers in the life sciences, this is the first book to provide an accessible introduction to philosophy of science with a focus on biology. It draws on contemporary examples to enable biologists to become more philosophically minded and informed, facilitating all aspects of research and communication.

Recenzje

'Although philosophically minded, the editors of this volume are primarily biolo­gists, while most of the fifteen chapters are written by philosophers … an informative and sometimes inspiring read. It is probably fair to say that evolutionary biology is the pet subject of philosophers of biology, and there is plenty about evolution to be found in its 300 + pages, but I was glad to see that the scope is much wider than that. Many of the topics covered are classical philosophy of science … The presentation, however, is always tailored to the needs of biologists in that the examples chosen to illustrate philosophical claims are explicitly biological, from paleontology to genetics, and from cultural evolution to Alzheimer's disease … Overall, the book will be interesting and relevant reading for biologists, but also philosophers with a serious interest in biology.' Frank E. Zachos, Philosophy of Science for Biologists

Spis treści

1. Why should biologists care about philosophy of science? Tobias Uller and Kostas Kampourakis; 2. What constitutes an explanation in biology? Angela Potochnik; 3. What is biological knowledge? Kevin McCain; 4. What is the nature of theories and models in biology? Emily Parke and Anya Plutynski; 5. How are biology concepts used and transformed? Ingo Brigandt; 6. Why does it matter that many biology concepts are metaphors? Kostas Kampourakis; 7. How do concepts contribute to scientific advancement? Evolutionary biology as a case study David Depew; 8. How can conceptual analysis contribute to scientific practice? The case of cultural evolution Tim Lewens; 9. What methods do life scientists use? A brief history with philosophical implications Erik L. Peterson; 10. Is it possible to scientifically reconstruct the history of life on earth? The biological sciences and deep time Carol Cleland; 11. What is the basis of biological classification? The search for natural systems Thomas Reydon; 12. What is the nature of scientific controversies in the biological sciences? Michael R. Dietrich; 13. What is the relation between facts and values in biological science? Biology in society Carrie Friese and Barbara Prainsack; 14. A philosopher in the age of creationism: What have I learned after fifty years doing philosophy of biology that I want to pass on to biologists Michael Ruse; 15. How can we teach philosophy of science to biologists? Kostas Kampourakis and Tobias Uller.