Morgan, G. J. 2006. Virus design, 1955–1962: Science meets art. Phytopathology 96:1287-1291. This... more Morgan, G. J. 2006. Virus design, 1955–1962: Science meets art. Phytopathology 96:1287-1291. This paper traces the beginnings of structural virology in the mid-20th century, focusing especially on the synergy between models of virus structure and models within art, notably Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes and Kenneth Snelson’s tensegrity structures. As Donald Caspar and Aaron Klug sought to extend the Crick-Watson theory of spherical virus structure, they explored analogies between biology and architecture, eventually publishing the classic Caspar-Klug theory of virus structure in 1962.
In this paper, I argue against John Beatty’s position in his paper “The Evolutionary Contingency ... more In this paper, I argue against John Beatty’s position in his paper “The Evolutionary Contingency Thesis” by counterexample. Beatty argues that there are no distinctly biological laws because the outcomes of the evolutionary processes are contingent. I argue that the heart of the Caspar–Klug theory of virus structure—that spherical virus capsids consist of 60T subunits (where T = k 2 + hk + h 2 and
... In Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal, Heather Douglas (2009) describes the value free... more ... In Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal, Heather Douglas (2009) describes the value free ideal for science, ''that social, ethical, and political values should have no influence over the reasoning of scientists, and ... In B. Gruber & R. Millman (Eds.), Symmetries in science (pp. ...
In a pioneering book, Philosophy of Microbiology, Maureen O’Malley argues for the philosophical i... more In a pioneering book, Philosophy of Microbiology, Maureen O’Malley argues for the philosophical importance of microbes through an examination of their impact on ecosystems, evolution, biological classification, collaborative behavior, and multicellular organisms. She identifies many understudied conceptual issues in the study of microbes. If philosophers follow her lead, the philosophy of biology will be expanded and enriched.
ABSTRACT In his Particles and Waves, Peter Achinstein gives a precise probabilistic version of th... more ABSTRACT In his Particles and Waves, Peter Achinstein gives a precise probabilistic version of theoretical coherence inspired by William Whewell's somewhat vague notion of coherence. Whewell believed that as theoretical science proceeds, it becomes more coherent and rejects false incoherent theories. Achinstein offers a challenge: try to make Whewell's idea more precise while maintaining the properties that Whewell claimed coherence to have. This chapter argues (1) that Achinstein's probabilistic rendition of coherence fails to capture Whewell's notion since the probabilistic rendition of coherence is not an a priori sign of truth and (2) that Achinstein's approach is better seen as a critique of Whewell's central methodological claims than as an interpretation of Whewell's ideas.
Morgan, G. J. 2006. Virus design, 1955–1962: Science meets art. Phytopathology 96:1287-1291. This... more Morgan, G. J. 2006. Virus design, 1955–1962: Science meets art. Phytopathology 96:1287-1291. This paper traces the beginnings of structural virology in the mid-20th century, focusing especially on the synergy between models of virus structure and models within art, notably Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes and Kenneth Snelson’s tensegrity structures. As Donald Caspar and Aaron Klug sought to extend the Crick-Watson theory of spherical virus structure, they explored analogies between biology and architecture, eventually publishing the classic Caspar-Klug theory of virus structure in 1962.
In this paper, I argue against John Beatty’s position in his paper “The Evolutionary Contingency ... more In this paper, I argue against John Beatty’s position in his paper “The Evolutionary Contingency Thesis” by counterexample. Beatty argues that there are no distinctly biological laws because the outcomes of the evolutionary processes are contingent. I argue that the heart of the Caspar–Klug theory of virus structure—that spherical virus capsids consist of 60T subunits (where T = k 2 + hk + h 2 and
... In Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal, Heather Douglas (2009) describes the value free... more ... In Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal, Heather Douglas (2009) describes the value free ideal for science, ''that social, ethical, and political values should have no influence over the reasoning of scientists, and ... In B. Gruber & R. Millman (Eds.), Symmetries in science (pp. ...
In a pioneering book, Philosophy of Microbiology, Maureen O’Malley argues for the philosophical i... more In a pioneering book, Philosophy of Microbiology, Maureen O’Malley argues for the philosophical importance of microbes through an examination of their impact on ecosystems, evolution, biological classification, collaborative behavior, and multicellular organisms. She identifies many understudied conceptual issues in the study of microbes. If philosophers follow her lead, the philosophy of biology will be expanded and enriched.
ABSTRACT In his Particles and Waves, Peter Achinstein gives a precise probabilistic version of th... more ABSTRACT In his Particles and Waves, Peter Achinstein gives a precise probabilistic version of theoretical coherence inspired by William Whewell's somewhat vague notion of coherence. Whewell believed that as theoretical science proceeds, it becomes more coherent and rejects false incoherent theories. Achinstein offers a challenge: try to make Whewell's idea more precise while maintaining the properties that Whewell claimed coherence to have. This chapter argues (1) that Achinstein's probabilistic rendition of coherence fails to capture Whewell's notion since the probabilistic rendition of coherence is not an a priori sign of truth and (2) that Achinstein's approach is better seen as a critique of Whewell's central methodological claims than as an interpretation of Whewell's ideas.
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