Here be dragons Here Exploring the hinterland of science Maarten Boudry Here be dragons Exploring the hinterland of science Maarten Boudry ISBN978-90-7083-018-2 Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Wijsbegeerte Promotor: Prof. dr. Johan Braeckman Supervisor Prof. dr. Johan Braeckman Wijsbegeerte en moraalwetenschap Dean Prof. dr. Freddy Mortier Rector Prof. dr. Paul Van Cauwenberghe Nederlandse vertaling: Hic sunt dracones. Een filosofische verkenning van pseudowetenschap en randwetenschap Cover: The image on the front cover is an excerpt of a map by the Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius, originally published in Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570). ISBN: 978-90-7083-018-2 The author and the promoter give the authorisation to consult and to copy parts of this work for personal use only. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws. Permission to reproduce any material contained in this work should be obtained from the author. Faculty of Arts & Humanities Maarten Boudry Here be Dragons Exploring the Hinterland of Science Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Wijsbegeerte 2011 Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have been written without the invaluable help of a number of people (a philosopher cannot help but thinking of them as a set of individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions). Different parts of this work have greatly benefited from stimulating discussions with many colleagues and friends, among whom Barbara Forrest, John Teehan, Herman Philipse, Helen De Cruz, Taner Edis, Nicholas Humphrey, Geerdt Magiels, Bart Klink, Glenn Branch, Larry Moran, Jerry Coyne, Michael Ruse, Steve Zara, Amber Griffioen, Johan De Smedt, Lien Van Speybroeck, and Evan Fales. Special thanks go to my co-authors and general partners-in-crime Stefaan Blancke, Filip Buekens, Massimo Pigliucci, Bert Leuridan and Johan Braeckman (see below), whose constructive criticism and inspiring ideas have never failed to stimulate me while writing and re-writing different chapters. My colleagues from our research group The Moral Brain have not only made this research a thoroughly enjoying experience, but they have also reminded me that, as David Hume once wrote, “truth springs from argument amongst friends”. In that respect, I am particularly grateful to my supervisor Johan Braeckman, intrepid explorer of scientific hinterlands, on whom I could always count for assistance, advise, and frankly, a good share of laughs as well. Thanks to Griet, Stefaan and Charlie for kindly proofreading parts of this dissertation, and to Gitte for helping me with the lay-out and cover. I also owe gratitude to my parents, family and friends for their continuing support and encouragement, as well as for their inexplicable patience for abstruse philosophical matters. Speaking of which, my last word of thanks must go to Sarah, without whom this work would never have seen the light of day. She knows what it‖s like to work on an academic dissertation, and perhaps more tellingly, she know what it‖s like to live with one who does. v Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Science, supernaturalism and design ......................................................................................... 4 The structure of pseudoscience .................................................................................................. 6 Part 1 – Science, Supernaturalism and Design ....................................................................... 9 Chapter 1. How Not to Attack Intelligent Design Creationism: Philosophical Misconceptions about Methodological Naturalism ......................................... 11 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Naturalism in Science ......................................................................................... 13 1.3 Two versions of Methodological Naturalism .................................................. 14 1.4 Five arguments in support of Intrinsic Methodological Naturalism .......... 15 1.4.1 ARGUMENT 1 – argument from the definition of science ............. 15 1.4.2 ARGUMENT 2 - Lawful regularity and the supernatural - Anything goes? ..................................................................................... 19 1.4.3 ARGUMENT 3 - Science Stopper......................................................... 23 1.4.4 ARGUMENT 4 – Procedural Necessity ............................................... 25 1.4.5 ARGUMENT 5 - Methodological Naturalism and Testability ......... 27 1.5 Discussion & Conclusion .................................................................................... 31 Chapter 2. Grist to the Mill of Intelligent Design Creationism: The Failed Strategy of Ruling the Supernatural out of Science A priori ........................................... 35 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 36 2.2 The theological friends of IMN ......................................................................... 37 2.3 The theological enemies of IMN ....................................................................... 38 2.4 Four reasons not to adopt IMN ......................................................................... 39 2.4.1 A counterproductive strategy ............................................................ 39 vii 2.4.2 Making sense of the history of science ............................................. 42 2.4.3 The retreat of the theologians ........................................................... 44 2.4.4 Good fences make good neighbors? .................................................. 46 2.4.5 The empirical case against supernatural design ............................. 47 2.5 Functional Integrity and God as a Creature .................................................... 50 2.6 Confusion about methodological naturalism ................................................. 52 2.7 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 53 Chapter 3. Blueprint and Machine Metaphors in Biology and Science Education ......... 57 3.1 Introduction: the machine metaphor in biological science and education.............................................................................................................. 58 3.2 Machine metaphors, Intelligent Design and science education .................. 60 3.3 Machine metaphors and the practice of biological research ....................... 69 3.4 The search for new metaphors ......................................................................... 74 3.5 Conclusion: metaphors as teaching moments in scientific research and education ...................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 4. Where the Design Argument Goes Wrong: Auxiliary Assumptions and Unification .............................................................................................................. 79 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 80 4.2 Likelihoodism and the design argument ......................................................... 81 4.2.1 Reconstructing the design argument ............................................... 81 4.2.2 Restrictions on auxiliary hypotheses ................................................ 82 4.3 Criticism ............................................................................................................... 83 4.3.1 Background knowledge ....................................................................... 83 4.3.2 Ruling out uninteresting assumptions ............................................. 84 4.4 Introducing auxiliaries ...................................................................................... 86 4.4.1 Gerrymandering and spurious unification ...................................... 86 4.4.2 Unification ............................................................................................ 87 4.4.3 Prediction .............................................................................................. 92 4.4.4 Imperfections and evils ....................................................................... 93 4.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 95 4.5.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 95 4.5.2 Taking the design argument seriously (and then rejecting it) ..... 96 Part 2 – Method in Madness .................................................................................................. 99 Chapter 5. Immunizing Strategies & Epistemic Defense Mechanisms ........................... 101 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 102 5.1.1 The demarcation problem ................................................................ 102 5.1.2 Overview .............................................................................................. 103 5.2 Theory change and degenerating research programmes .......................... 103 viii 5.3 Immunizing strategies & epistemic defense mechanisms ......................... 105