Biology and Epistemology

This set of original 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 today. The volume will interest professionals and graduate students in biology and the history and philosophy of science.

• A very impressive team of contributors, with some of the best names in philosophy of science • Essays explore a range of diverse issues in the intersection of biology and epistemology • Deals with philosophical and historical issues in science of the nineteenth century and today

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.