Taking evolution seriously in political science

In this essay, we explore the epistemological and ontological assumptions that have been made to make political science “scientific.” We show how political science has generally adopted an ontologically reductionist philosophy of science derived from Newtonian physics and mechanics. This mechanical framework has encountered problems and constraints on its explanatory power, because an emphasis on equilibrium analysis is ill-suited for the study of political change. We outline the primary differences between an evolutionary ontology of social science and the physics-based philosophy commonly employed. Finally, we show how evolutionary thinking adds insight into the study of political phenomena and research questions that are of central importance to the field, such as preference formation.     

Toward a Marxian anthropology? Bare,abstract, mobile,global

Anthropology has conventionally taken as some of its most cherished foundational categories the precise opposites of the key concepts that animate this inquiry: rather than “bare life,” anthropology has tended always to emphasize the fullness and complexity of social and political life; instead of labor in the abstract, which we recognize in its commodified form as “labor-power,” anthropology has produced exquisite inventories of concrete laboring activities and the “cultural” content of productive work; against the impermanence and mutability of lives characterized by their mobility, the ethnographic enterprise has been deeply attached to the sedentarist presuppositions of lasting settlement, dwelling, and “community”; and contrary to the task of apprehending space on a global scale, ethnographic study has been overwhelmingly localized and place-bound. Rethinking these elementary premises of the ethnographic endeavor and situating these critical concepts at the center of our epistemological frameworks are crucial theoretical and practical tasks for any meaningful social inquiry today. In this regard, the Marxian theoretical arsenal is simply indispensable. But, in the derisive words of so many disciplinary forebears and overseers, is this properly “anthropological”? The prospective convergence of genuinely critical sociopolitical inquiry with the techniques and insights of anthropology must remain for us the locus of an urgent problem—an open question on an open horizon.     

Half a Century on the Concepts of Innateness and Instinct: Survey,Synthesis and Philosophical Implications

This paper first surveys and criticizes the various attempts by students of behavior to define the concept of innateness. A new definition, based on these (especially that of Lorenz), and reformulable in terms of now classic notions in genetics and evolutionary theory, is then offered: A trait is innate if, and only if, it is canalized and such that any phenotype in the reaction norm which does not possess the trait is a morphose — hence maladapted — and such that all modifications do possess the trait. A narrower definition of innateness, based on the first definition, is suggested to delimit what is called “the Lorenzian notions of innateness” and to provide a framework within which to discuss the notion of a fixed action pattern. Evidence, from the recent literature, is adduced to show the existence and importance of such patterns — even for human behavior. In the final section, it is argued that a paradigm shift has indeed occurred and that although this scientific revolution has been accompanied by many of the irrational elements noted by the Kuhnian school of philosophy of science, the shift has in fact been made upon perfectly rational grounds. That this should be true of so controversial a field is strong evidence against the irrationalist thesis in philosophy of science.     

What are genes “for” or where are traits “from”? What is the question?

For at least a century it has been known that multiple factors play a role in the development of complex traits, and yet the notion that there are genes “for” such traits, which traces back to Mendel, is still widespread. In this paper, we illustrate how the Mendelian model has tacitly encouraged the idea that we can explain complexity by reducing it to enumerable genes. By this approach many genes associated with simple as well as complex traits have been identified. But the genetic architecture of biological traits, or how they are made, remains largely unknown. In essence, this reflects the tension between reductionism as the current “modus operandi” of science, and the emerging knowledge of the nature of complex traits. Recent interest in systems biology as a unifying approach indicates a reawakened acceptance of the complexity of complex traits, though the temptation is to replace “gene for” thinking by comparably reductionistic “network for” concepts. Both approaches implicitly mix concepts of variants and invariants in genetics. Even the basic question is unclear: what does one need to know to “understand” the genetic basis of complex traits? New operational ideas about how to deal with biological complexity are needed.     

Scientific motherhood,responsibility, and hope: umbilical cord blood banking in South Korea

This paper explores how concepts of hope, motherhood, responsibility, and science are mobilized and transformed in the marketing strategies of private cord blood banks in South Korea. Cord blood banking provides a useful case study of the “political economy of hope,” which emphasizes future expectations over current utility. In particular, appeals to hope are rendered natural as being applied in relation to various concepts of motherhood (e.g. “scientific motherhood” and “consumer motherhood”), thereby refiguring ideas of a mother's responsibility to her child. In South Korea, cord blood banks rely heavily on the discourse of “scientific motherhood,” which is based on certain gender norms and ideas about science, modernity, and “advanced society.” By exploring the discourse of scientific motherhood, this study reexamines the “political economy of hope” through the lenses of gender and transnationalism.     

Reduction of biological properties by means of functional sub-types

The general aim of this paper is to propose a reductionist strategy to higher-level property types. Starting from a common ground in the philosophy of science, I shall elaborate on possible realizer differences of higher-level property types. Because of the realizer types' causal heterogeneity, an introduction of functional subtypes of higher-level properties will be suggested. Each higher-level functional sub-type corresponds to one realizer type. This means that there is the theoretical possibility to reach some kind of type-identity and this opens up the way for theory reduction in a more complete manner. This kind of type-identity will go beyond the common ground of the identity of tokens and their reductive explanation. In the second part of the paper, this reductionist strategy will be applied to a specific debate in the philosophy of biology--the reductionist approach to classical genetics from a molecular point of view.     

Sex Cells: Gender and the Language of Bacterial Genetics

Between 1946 and 1960, a new phenomenon emerged in the field of bacteriology. “Bacterial sex,” as it was called, revolutionized the study of genetics, largely by making available a whole new class of cheap, fast-growing, and easily manipulated organisms. But what was “bacterial sex?” How could single-celled organisms have “sex” or even be sexually differentiated? The technical language used in the scientific press – the public and inalienable face of 20th century science – to describe this apparently neuter organism was explicit: the cells “copulated,” had “intimate contract,” “conjugal unions,” and engaged in “ménage ã trois” relationships. And yet, to describe bacteria as sexually reproducing organisms, the definition of sex itself had to change. Despite manifold contradictions and the availability of alternative language, the notion of sexually active (even promiscuous) single-celled organisms has persisted, even into contemporary textbooks on cell biology and genetics. In this paper I examine the ways in which bacteria were brought into the genetic fold, sexualized, and given gender; I also consider the issues underlying the durability of “bacterial sex.”     

鸡快慢羽性状遗传学基础分析综合实验探索与实践

随着全国“卓越农林人才教育培养计划”的开展,我校动物科学专业设置了“卓越班”,以突出培养学生的系统思维和创新创业能力为目标开展了系列教育教学管理和课程改革。为此,我们以“鸡快、慢羽性状”为实验对象,设计了“鸡快慢羽性状遗传学基础分析”综合实验,突出培养学生用理论知识解决生产实践问题的思维和能力。本文重点介绍了该实验作为动物遗传学实验教学案例的实施过程及效果,首先从鸡的表型观察逐步深入到遗传学基础分析,利用遗传学理论指导鸡快、慢羽品系培育的育种实践。实验内容涉及伴性遗传规律和性别决定机制等遗传学理论知识,同时还涉及基因组DNA提取、基因扩增、酶切及电泳分析等一系列分子遗传学的技术方法。不仅有利于学生综合分析能力和专业技能的掌握,还有助于培养学生对动物科学专业的科研兴趣和创新意识。此综合性实验还展现了用遗传学理论指导动物品种培育实践过程,符合动物科学专业复合应用型人才培养目标的要求,其中的教学理念和方法可推广应用于其他生物学实验教学。     

Science and Restoration Under a Big, Demon Haunted Tent: Reply to Giardina et al. (2007)

In a recent editorial, I discussed how the culture of science, heterogeneity of nature, and real‐world human complexities can limit the practical relevance of formal scientific research and argued that less formal approaches might often be more efficient and effective. Giardina et al. criticized this editorial and argued that formal science has and increasingly will play a central role in ecological restoration in particular and human progress in general. Here, I respond to these arguments and expand upon the ideas presented in my previous editorial. I further illustrate how despite superficial appearances the utilitarian value of formal science may often be largely indirect. I also argue that the complexities of ecological and human systems combined with the subjective values and political beliefs underlying restoration make transforming this discipline into a unified “hard science” virtually impossible. Because values and politics also underlie most environmental conflicts, and scientific inquiry is inherently unsuitable for resolving these kinds of disputes, the future success of restoration may depend more on political support than scientific progress. Dogmatic, nonfalsifiable faith in the universal superiority of “rigorous” scientific knowledge and methodologies can foster arrogance and intolerance and blind us to the ephemeral nature of scientific “truths” and the double‐edged sword of scientific “progress.” My hope is that Society for Ecological Restoration International (SERI) will remain a big inclusive tent that embraces a healthy diversity of foci and approaches that emulate the extraordinary diversity we find within the natural ecosystems and human cultures we strive to preserve, restore, and reconnect.     

The seeds and the worms: Ludwik Fleck and the early history of germ theories

The Polish microbiologist and philosopher of science, Ludwik Fleck (1896-1961), was a pioneer in constructivist history and philosophy of science. Based on studies in the history of syphilis, Fleck hypothesized that many established scientific facts are linked, in their development, to pre-scientific "proto-ideas." In 1935, Fleck proposed that the history of germ theories could be approached through his thesis on proto-ideas. His proposal, however, remained little more than a vague suggestion and was never developed in further detail. This paper introduces the concept of proto-ideas and discusses the central epistemological and historiographical implications of Fleck's thesis. The Fleckian approach offers an attractive alternative to positivist reconstructions of the early history of germ theories and provides a useful framework for a deeper understanding of the sociocultural background of the development of modern knowledge of infection.     

Systems biology,emergence and antireductionism

This study explores the conceptual history of systems biology and its impact on philosophical and scientific conceptions of reductionism, antireductionism and emergence. Development of systems biology at the beginning of 21st century transformed biological science. Systems biology is a new holistic approach or strategy how to research biological organisms, developed through three phases. The first phase was completed when molecular biology transformed into systems molecular biology. Prior to the second phase, convergence between applied general systems theory and nonlinear dynamics took place, hence allowing the formation of systems mathematical biology. The second phase happened when systems molecular biology and systems mathematical biology, together, were applied for analysis of biological data. Finally, after successful application in science, medicine and biotechnology, the process of the formation of modern systems biology was completed.Systems and molecular reductionist views on organisms were completely opposed to each other. Implications of systems and molecular biology on reductionist–antireductionist debate were quite different. The analysis of reductionism, antireductionism and emergence issues, in the era of systems biology, revealed the hierarchy between methodological, epistemological and ontological antireductionism. Primarily, methodological antireductionism followed from the systems biology. Only after, epistemological and ontological antireductionism could be supported.     

Constructivism,sociology and the new genetics 1

In this paper it is argued that the social sciences, especially sociology, cannot afford to ignore the challenge that is coming from the new genetics. This will involve rethinking some of the epistemological assumptions of modernist social science, which has always assumed the separation of nature and society. The argument made in this article is that a qualified version of constructivism points to a possible opening within the sciences for a reorientation for sociology and in a way that the new genetics can be addressed in a serious way.     

Vygotsky's Crisis: Argument, context, relevance

Vygotsky’s The Historical Significance of the Crisis in Psychology (1926–1927) is an important text in the history and philosophy of psychology that has only become available to scholars in 1982 in Russian, and in 1997 in English. The goal of this paper is to introduce Vygotsky’s conception of psychology to a wider audience.I argue that Vygotsky’s argument about the “crisis” in psychology and its resolution can be fully understood only in the context of his social and political thinking. Vygotsky shared the enthusiasm, widespread among Russian leftist intelligentsia in the 1920s, that Soviet society had launched an unprecedented social experiment: The socialist revolution opened the way for establishing social conditions that would let the individual flourish. For Vygotsky, this meant that “a new man” of the future would become “the first and only species in biology that would create itself.” He envisioned psychology as a science that would serve this humanist teleology.I propose that The Crisis is relevant today insofar as it helps us define a fundamental problem: How can we systematically account for the development of knowledge in psychology? I evaluate how Vygotsky addresses this problem as a historian of the crisis.     

Risky cultures to risky genes: The racialised discursive construction of south Asian genetic diabetes risk

Type 2 diabetes within UK South Asian populations has increasingly become the focus of health science discourse. Growing rates across the globe have been a public health concern for a number of decades. Diabetes discourse has focused on lifestyle and a generalized idea of “cultural” factors as contributory factors. These have become part of what I identify as a South Asian diabetes “risk-package.” This risk formulation is extended to an additional genetic discourse which generates new causal explanations for this heightened “risk.” South Asian groups are already the subject of discursive, racialized risk constructions, which positions them as active owners of “risky culture.” The mobilization of genetic arguments repositions them as additionally passive owners of “risky genes.” I argue that the use of racial categories in genetic diabetes science, despite the relative uncertainty and ambiguity of scientific knowledge claims, is problematic and requires critical re-situating.     

The “Missing Heritability” of Psychiatric Disorders: Elusive Genes or Non-Existent Genes?

The psychiatric genetics field is currently undergoing a crisis due to the decades-long failure to uncover the genes believed to cause the major psychiatric disorders. Since 2009, leading researchers have explained these negative results on the basis of the “missing heritability” argument, which holds that more effective research methods must be developed to uncover presumed missing genes. According to the author, problems with the missing heritability argument include genetic determinist beliefs, a reliance on twin research, the use of heritability estimates, and the failure to seriously consider the possibility that presumed genes do not exist. The author concludes that decades of negative results support a finding that genes for the major psychiatric disorders do not appear to exist, and that research attention should be directed away from attempts to uncover “missing heritability” and toward environmental factors and a reassessment of previous genetic interpretations of psychiatric family, twin, and adoption studies.     

The weaker sex: Is being male a legally cognizable defect,impairment, or disability?

Compared with women, men die from cancer and coronary artery disease in disproportionately higher numbers and are more susceptible to a host of emotional and developmental disorders. The authors of this article consider what scientific proof or evidence would be required to legally recognize “being male” as a disability, based on the overwhelming number of physical deficiencies to which males are genetically predisposed. The article summarizes major scientific findings on male health problems and explores various laws and policies that might be implicated by treatment of males as a special category recognized by the law. How the law creates categories of individuals and the reasons why these categories are created for legal classification are reviewed. In addition, the potential for a “maleness” defense in the context of criminal law and procedure is assessed. Lastly, the authors examine the policy implications of treating men as a disabled class, and consider how judges, juries, and legislators would view a scientifically based approach to the creation of a class. Given the many false starts in the past, in which the law had embraced what later was shown to be bad science, substantial historical baggage will have to be overcome to convince judges, juries, and legislators that science has now got it in the sense of having established a valid, causal, genetic or biological determinant for behavior. The consideration of a “male deficiency” theory under the law would have to rely on a more inclusive view of legal “disability” and a willingness to allow technologic advances in genetics to inform our understanding of criminal behavior.     

Epigenetic metaphors: an interdisciplinary translation of encoding and decoding

Looking at the new and often disputed science of epigenetics, we examined the challenges faced by scientists when they communicate scientific research to the public. We focused on the use of metaphors to illustrate notions of epigenetics and genetics. We studied the “encoding” by epigeneticists and “decoding” in focus groups with diverse backgrounds. We observed considerable overlap in the dominant metaphors favored by both researchers and the lay public. However, the groups differed markedly in their interpretations of which metaphors aided understanding or not. We conclude by discussing the role of metaphors and their interpretations in the context of a shift from pre-deterministic genomic metaphors to more active, dynamic and nuanced epigenetic metaphors. These reflections on the choice of metaphors and differences in encoding/decoding are important for science communication and scientific boundary-maintenance.     

Epigenetic determinism in science and society

The epigenetic “revolution” in science cuts across many disciplines, and it is now one of the fastest-growing research areas in biology. Increasingly, claims are made that epigenetics research represents a move away from the genetic determinism that has been prominent both in biological research and in understandings of the impact of biology on society. We discuss to what extent an epigenetic framework actually supports these claims. We show that, in contrast to the received view, epigenetics research is often couched in language as deterministic as genetics research in both science and the popular press. We engage the rapidly emerging conversation about the impact of epigenetics on public discourse and scientific practice, and we contend that the notion of epigenetic determinism – or the belief that epigenetic mechanisms determine the expression of human traits and behaviors – matters for understandings of the influence of biology and society on population health.     

ICJ's Decision in Australia v. Japan: Giving up the Spear or Refining the Scientific Design?

The case Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan) decided by the International Court of Justice is a landmark that introduces new parameters for measuring the “reasonableness” of scientific research by permit under the International Convention on Whaling. However, aspects of these parameters and how they may be applied in future cases remain uncertain. Because the Court's interpretation of the language “for purposes of scientific research” avoids defining scientific research, the Court's decision provides only a limited degree of clarification for States that intend to operate scientific whaling programs under Article VIII of the Convention. The Court's reasonableness test is unlikely to prevent scientific whaling. States who no longer support the dual object and purpose of the Whaling Convention may want to consider negotiating a new international instrument that would be more protective of whales and their habitat.