Re: Question: Philosophy of Science - is it Relevant?

John Wilkins wrote:
>
> That's a rather broader question. Popper of course has been adduced to support
> everything from Mendelian genetics to phylogenetic systematics (and has very
> little impact on the actual science). Likewise Kuhn. But David Hull and Elliot
> Sober have influenced the disciplines they have addressed, particularly
> Sober's _Reconstructing the Past_ on cladistics. Lately Sober has been working
> with a biologist, David Sloan Wilson, on selection theory and evolutionary
> psychology.

John, What, in your view, are the qualities that the philosopher brings
to a discussion of biological theories? Are they "outsiders" looking in
and offering unique views? Do they have tools (disciplinary tools) that
the biologist doesn't have? Can philosophers offer something more to
biology than a biologist who reads and absorbs philosophy?

Another thing that seems interesting to me is why many philosophers have
found an interest in biology. By comparison, I can't think of any
philosopher who has found an interest in economics. Economists might
read this or that philosopher and they might absorb some of the
philosopher's ideas, but that's about as far as the collaboration goes.
Biology seems to be quit different.

Michael Nuwer
nuwermj at potsdam dot edu



>
> Sahotra Sarkar is influential in molecular genetics and conservation biology,
> but he works in both professions, so perhaps he doesn't count. Paul Griffiths
> and his collaborators ahs infleunced the debate over public policy and
> genetics, and also a number of developmental biologists use his ideas in their
> work. How much it affects their methodology I can't say, but it affects their
> overall views to a degree.
>
> The inclusion in phylogenetics of Maximum Likelihood probably (pun intended!)
> derives from work done by people like Carnap on Bayesian inference.
>
> That's off the top of my head.
>

.

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