Science as a Way of Knowing--Genetics

SYNOPSIS. This essay is part of the third presentation of aneducational project of the American Society of Zoologists. Thepurpose is to offer suggestions for improving the first-yearbiology courses in the universities. The method consists ofemphasizing the conceptual framework of the biological sciences,showing how scientific information is obtained and evaluated,pointing out the strengths and limitations of scientific procedures,and above all showing the relevance of science for human hopesand well being. This is done annually with a major symposium,an essay distributed at the symposium, a film program, and,finally, the published proceedings, which are widely distributedto scientistteachers throughout the world. Each year a majortopicis considered. In 1983 it was Evolutionary Biology andin 1984 it was Human Ecology. This year it is Genetics.     

Science as a Way of Knowing--Evolutionary Biology

This essay is part of an educational project of the AmericanSociety of Zoologists that will make proposals for improvingthe first-year biology course inthe universities. The detailedsuggestions emphasize the importance of the conceptual frameworkof the biological sciences. The topic for this year is EvolutionaryBiology and it is developed largely by the hypothetico-deductivemethod emphasizing that science, in addition to its store ofinformation, is a way of knowing. Other topics will be consideredin future years in the ongoing project.     

Science as a Way of Knowing--Human Ecology

This essay is part of the second presentation of an educationalproject of the American Society of Zoologists. The purpose ofthe project is to offer suggestions for improving the first-yearbiology courses in the universities. The method consists ofemphasizing the conceptual framework of the biological sciences,showing how scientific information is obtained and evaluated,pointing out the strengths and limitations of scientific procedures,and above all showing the relevance of science for human hopesand welfare. Each year a major topic will be considered. Lastyear it was Evolutionary Biology. This year it is Human Ecology.     

Science as a Way of Knowing--Evolution: The Biology of Whole Organisms1

Examples of current research of importance to the conceptualand informational bases of evolutionary biology in the areasof morphology, development, physiology, ecology, populationbiology, natural history, and systematics are discussed. A syntheticapproach to problems that utilizes ideas and techniques fromseveral areas of biology characterizes much current research,and it is providing new conceptual frameworks and new, testablehypotheses. Some of the possible problems with methods of presentationas we often teach in these areas of biology are considered.     

Science as a Way of Knowing--VII: A Conceptual Framework for Biology Part III

This essay completes Science as a Way of Knowing, an educationalproject of the American Society of Zoologists and eleven cosponsoringorganizations. It is also the third part of my attempt to producea "Conceptual Framework for Biology." The discussion of Evolutioncontinues and is followed by Classification, Ecology, GeographicDistribution, Biology and Human Welfare, and the Nature of Science.The intended audience is those who teach the first-year biologycourses in colleges and universities as well as biology teachersin the precollege grades.     

Joseph Dalton Hooker's Ideals for a Professional Man of Science

During the 1840s and the 1850s botanist Joseph Hooker developeddistinct notions about the proper characteristics of aprofessional man of science. While he never articulated theseideas publicly as a coherent agenda, he did share his opinionsopenly in letters to family and colleagues; this privatecommunication gives essential insight into his and his X-Clubcolleagues' public activities. The core aspiration of Hooker'sprofessionalization was to consolidate men of science into adutiful and centralized community dedicated to nationalwell-being. The nation in turn owed the scientific community forits ministration. When the government bestowed funds and statuson men of science it was rewarding science – not purchasing it. His proposed reforms were piecemeal, immediate, and above allpractical. He harbored no taste for vast millenariantransformation, and rested his conception of scientificprofessionalism upon a respectable High Victorian foundation ofpatronage and pillars of duty, reciprocity, intimacy, andinequality. The process of professionalization he envisioned wasas much shrewd compromise between existing interests as avindication of principle. His power and prestige from themid-1850s onward gave him considerable ability to carry out hisreform program, although his general success did occasion someundesired consequences for the status of natural-historypursuits. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Selection and Science: Critical notice of David Hull's Science as a Process

An examination of Hull's claims about the nature of interactors, replicators and selection, with special attention to how the genetic material realizes the first two types, and a critique of Hull's attempt to apply the theory of natural selection to the explanation of scientific change, and in particular the succession of theories. I conclude that difficulties attending the molecular instantiation of Hull's theory are vastly increased when it comes to be applied to memes.     

When Science Replaces Religion: Science as a Secular Authority Bolsters Moral Sensitivity

Scientific and religious thinking compete with each other on several levels. For example, activating one generally weakens the other. Since priming religion is known to increase moral behaviour and moral sensitivity, priming science might be expected to have the opposite effect. However, it was recently demonstrated that, on the contrary, science priming increases moral sensitivity as well. The present set of studies sought to replicate this effect and test two explanations for it. Study 1 used a sentence unscrambling task for implicitly priming the concept of science but failed to replicate its effect on moral sensitivity, presumably due to a ceiling effect. Study 2 replicated the effect with a new measure of moral sensitivity. Study 3 tested whether science-related words create this effect by activating the idea of secular authority or by activating analytic thinking. It was demonstrated that words related to secular authority, but not words related to analytic thinking, produced a similar increase in moral sensitivity. Religiosity level of the participants did not influence this basic finding. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that science as a secular institution has overtaken some of the functions of religion in modern societies.