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Title: Thinking about Biology by Stephen Webster ISBN: 0-521-59954-7 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 03 April, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: It's philosophy, but not as we know it!
Comment: Philosophy puts many people off, and the same goes for philosophy of biology (PoB). As far as the latter is concerned, there is good reasons why many people are not interested. PoB is preoccupied with evolutionary biology. What counts as an adaptation, what is the best definition of a species, how altruism is possible - or what is it, anyway?, what is the level of selection: these are central topics in PoB. Lots of people are not particularly bothered by such issues, and so PoB gets a dusty image.
Webster's book shows that there is much more to PoB than evolutionary conundrums. It is refreshingly openminded towards the choice of topics. To be sure, there is a chapter on evolution, but this is certainly not the lion's part of the book. In fact, the central theme is the interaction between biology and society. This theme is illustrated by historical as well as very up to date issues. A choice selection: Eugenics, Human Genome Project, the use of animals in research, research ethics. The book also touches on some general themes in Philosophy of Science, such as the status of 'facts', and reductionism.
The style of presentation is unpretentious and accessible. Although there is no Reference section (making the book suspect - 'unscientific' - for some people), references to relevant literature is made throughout the book in footnotes. These are remarkably up-to-date, covering some material from 2002!
'Thinking about Biology' is a wellcome addition to the literature of PoB. The only drawback is that sometimes there is much description of how things went, as in the Mad Cow Disease history, but little analysis of a basic problem this history illustrates, namely that scientists and politicians do communicate so badly. But it makes very clear that such a problem exists, and biology students should take good notice of such points!
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Title: The Birth of the Mind: How a Tiny Number of Genes Creates the Complexities of Human Thought by Gary Marcus ISBN: 0465044050 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 16 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Nature Via Nurture : Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human by Matt Ridley ISBN: 0060006781 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Defending Science-Within Reason: Between Scientism and Cynicism by Susan Haack ISBN: 1591021170 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Eight Preposterous Propositions: From the Genetics of Homosexuality to the Benefits of Global Warming by Robert Ehrlich ISBN: 0691099995 Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 15 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The X in Sex : How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives by David Bainbridge ISBN: 0674010280 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: 31 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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