Science and Selection

One way to understand science is as a selection process. David Hull, one of the dominant figures in contemporary philosophy of science, sets out in this volume a general analysis of this selection process that applies equally to biological evolution, the reaction of the immune system to antigens, operant learning, and social and conceptual change in science. Hull aims to distinguish between those characteristics that are contingent features of selection and those that are essential. Science and Selection brings together many of David Hull’s most important essays on selection (some never before published) in one accessible volume.

• David Hull is one of the most important contemporary philosophers of biology • Essays are recent, some brand new • Describes science as a selection process to explain why science works the way it does

Introduction; Part I. Selection in Biological Evolution: 1. Interactors versus vehicles; 2. Taking vehicles seriously; 3. A general analysis of selection, with Rod Langman and Sigrid Glenn; Part II. Selection in the Evolution of Science: 4. A mechanism and its metaphysics; 5. Why scientists behave scientifically; 6. What’s wrong with invisible-hand explanations?; Part III. Testing our Views about Science: 7. A function for actual examples in philosophy of science; 8. The evolution of conceptual systems in science; 9. Testing philosophical claims about science; 10. That just don’t sound right: a plea for real examples in philosophy of science; 11. Studying the study of science scientifically.