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Volume 9, Number 3 March 2015 Volume 9, Number 3 March 2015 thereasoner.org ISSN 1757-0522 pletely disconnected). On the contrary, I think that serious at- Contents tempts to ground philosophical insight on the historical and sci- entific study of specific research areas should be seen as crucial Editorial 18 contributions to general epis- temology. As demonstrated Features 19 countless times in the history of philosophy, abstract dis- News 22 cussions of modes of knowl- edge can benefit enormously What’s Hot in . 24 from critical reflection on how knowledge is actually Events 25 developed and used—such Courses and Programmes 26 as that emerging from the study of specific reasoning Jobs and Studentships 27 processes, and their rela- tion to ever-shifting prac- tical constraints, opportuni- ties, and social and material Editorial infrastructures. An excel- lent exemplification of this It is a great pleasure to return as guest editor of The Reasoner, approach is the work of Werner Callebaut, Scientific Direc- especially as this time I had the opportunity to interview three tor of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition towering figures in contemporary philosophy of biology, based Research and Professor in philosophy of science at the Uni- in three different continents, about the characteristics of this versity of Hasselt (1995–2009) and Vienna (2009–2014), who field and the ways in which it contributes to general philoso- died unexpectedly in November last year. I want to take this phy: Professor James Griesemer from University of California occasion to honour and highlight his contributions, which were Davis; Professor Rachel Ankeny from the University of Ade- built on insights from general philosophy (particularly, over the laide; and my colleague Professor John Dupre´ from the Uni- last few years, Kantian scholarship), philosophy of science (es- versity of Exeter. I hope you enjoy their discussion as much pecially debates on theory change and perspectivism), history as I did, and that you take this as an invitation to reflect on and philosophy of biology, and several scientific fields (includ- the relation between the philosophy of the special sciences and ing developmental and evolutionary biology, cognitive science philosophy at large, as well as on the role that philosophers of and economics). This unique capacity to bridge disciplinary science can play in developing understandings of the world at boundaries led Werner to important contributions to central large. I view this as an extremely important conversation, as philosophical debates such as the role of naturalism, models, too often it is assumed that the only relevance of the philos- perspectives and representations in the development of knowl- ophy of special sciences is to the development of the specific edge. This outlook on the role of the philosophy of science is fields that it analyses (and even this may be questioned, espe- championed by many scholars within the philosophy of biol- cially in cases where philosophical and scientific work are com- 18 ogy, as well as by societies like the International Society for due in part to its tendency to focus on the physical sciences. the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science and the Given that the biological and biomedical sciences explore Society for the Philosophy of Science in Practice, but is too living, evolving, and contextualized entities, the types of often dismissed as irrelevant within general epistemology. Of philosophical issues that arise within it are considerably differ- course, efforts towards improved communication should come ent than those envisaged in most general philosophy of science. from both sides, and I should note that few philosophers of biology (including myself) pay attention to contemporary de- James R. Griesemer: Philosophy of biology is a “philosophy velopments in epistemology and logic. This is partly a mat- of X,” like other specialty “branches” of philosophy such as ter of cognitive constraints, as it is of course very difficult to philosophy of art, phi- keep abreast of a large variety of scholarly discussions, es- losophy of religion, or pecially when trying to follow scientific debates at the same philosophy of physics. As time—Werner was quite unique in that respect. The Reasoner such, some of its problems is ideally positioned to provide a conduit for dialogue and con- come from the special frontation across philosophical sub-fields, and I hope contribu- subject matter it studies tors will continue to take advantage of this venue in this way. rather than out of “general” philosphical questions that Sabina Leonelli seem to transcend particu- University of Exeter lar subject matter such as “what is knowledge?”, “why is there something rather than Features nothing?”, “what is a/the good life?”. Philosophers of biology seek answers to questions about how best to understand Interview with Rachel Ankeny, John Dupre´ and concepts, methods, practices, and theories in the life sciences, James Griesemer on the philosophy of biology e.g., whether fitness is a causal concept, how general is Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, or what Sabina Leonelli: How would you characterise the philosophy is/can be a gene. They also seek to understand substantial of biology, with respect to other branches of philosophy? changes of method and practice, such as the turn toward “model organisms” and experimentation in the late 19th and John Dupre´: Philosophy of biology reflects on the meth- 20th centuries, or how genetics became (or was superseded ods, assumptions and findings of the life sciences. In by) genomics, or the impact of digital computers and the recent decades it has tended to focus overwhelmingly on Internet on theories (stochastic theories, agent-based models) evolutionary theory, but more recently it has expanded its and practices (simulation, sophisticated statistical methods, scope to include a much wider range of work in biology. big data) in the life sciences since the 1960’s. Increasingly, Philosophy of biology is philosophers of biology are interested in the entanglement of generally assumed to be a biologists’ pursuit of knowledge about the living world with subfield of philosophy of sci- social, economic, and political practices and processes, such ence which, in turn, provides as the increasing engagement of ecologists with the role of an essential perspective on humans in ecosystems. In my view, people come to philosophy epistemology and meta- of biology as a research subject either, like myself, from physics. For naturalists, who biological backgrounds seeking answers to broad questions believe that science is our of concept, method, practice, and theory about biology, or best way of knowing about from philosophical backgrounds seeking answers to general the world, understanding philosophical questions for which the special subject matter of how science works is es- biology poses special problems to epistemology, metaphysics, sential to epistemology, and or ethics or holds special promise of expansion of or challenge understanding the content to general philosophical views, e.g., on concepts of simplicity, of what science tells us similarity, causation, or the moral worth of non-human animals. about the world is central to metaphysics. The latter claims have, however, led to some SL: How do you think this field contributes to a philosophical often heated debates with metaphysicians and epistemologists understanding of scientific reasoning? who do not share the naturalistic viewpoint. The recent growth of philosophy of biology, as also of philosophy of physics and JD: If philosophy of biology didn’t contribute to our under- of other particular sciences, reflects in part increasing doubts standing of scientific reasoning, this would be a damning about the existence of any universal or general truths about indictment of the field: this is one of its central aims. The science and, concomitantly, doubts about the value of so-called more difficult question is whether it contributes to the under- general philosophy of science. standing of scientific reasoning generally, or rather just to the understanding of reasoning in biology, or in particular areas of Rachel Ankeny: I generally view philosophy of biology as biology. A moderate answer is that it does both to some degree. a subfield within philosophy of science, which in turn is a Concepts such as explanation, causation, induction, scientific field that primarily has explored epistemology but also issues model or law, etc., have relevance across the sciences, and relating to metaphysics and ethics. Philosophy of biology provide legitimate space for a general philosophy of science. arguably has begun to reorient the traditional epistemological But what can be said about them in general is too abstract to assumptions which underlay general philosophy of science have much immediate relevance to particular sciences, and 19 their role in reasoning in, for example, biology to specific biology as subject rather than a positivistic view of physics sub-fields of biology. Philosophical insight into these general for understanding scientific reasoning, we have learned that concepts is a necessary input into the analysis of reasoning in there is no single best all-purpose theoretical model, so that specific areas of science, but more detailed contextualisation practical, pragmatic, and ethical concerns can find their way with respect to methods, practice and theory in particular into biological reasoning in ways that suggest a deep under- scientific fields, as for example is studied in philosophy of standing of scientific reasoning will also be messy. A tidy view biology, is essential for understanding of scientific reasoning. of scientific reasoning is bound to be a false or misleading view. RA: I believe that understanding reasoning in the biolog- SL: In your work, are you interested in contributing to discus- ical and bio-medical sciences is an essential part of com- sions in general philosophy, and if so, how? ing to a more well-rounded understanding of scientific rea- soning in general. To base our vision of science on any JD: Very much so.
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