Science and Selection: Essays on Biological

One way to understand science is as a selection process. David Hull, one of the dominant figures in contemporary philosophy of science, sets out in this volume a general analysis of this selection process that applies equally to biological evolution, the reaction of the immune system to antigens, operant learning, and social and conceptual change in science. Science and Selection brings together many of Hull's most important essays on selection (some never before published) in one accessible volume.

Introduction

1

(13)

PART I SELECTION IN BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

Interactors versus Vehicles

13

(33)

Replicators and Interactors

22

(10)

Conceptual Evolution: Replication

32

(6)

Conceptual Evolution: Interaction

38

(8)

Taking Vehicles Seriously

46

(3)

A General Account of Selection: Biology, Immunology, and Behavior, with Rodney E. Langman and Sigrid S. Glenn

49

(48)

Introduction

49

(4)

A Brief Characterization of Selection

53

(8)

Selection in Biological Evolution

61

(5)

Somatic Selection in the Immune System

66

(9)

Operant Selection

75

(15)

Conclusion

90

(7)

PART II SELECTION IN THE EVOLUTION OF SCIENCE

A Mechanism and Its Metaphysics: An Evolutionary Account of the Social and Conceptual Development of Science

97

(38)

Conceptual Inclusive Fitness

101

(8)

Selection Processes

109

(3)

The Role of Individuality in Selection

112

(3)

Science as a Selection Process

115

(4)

Disanalogies between Biological and Conceptual Evolution

119

(6)

Conceptual Interaction

125

(2)

The Type Specimen Method of Reference

127

(5)

Conclusion

132

(3)

Why Scientists Behave Scientificially

135

(4)

What's Wrong with Invisible-Hand Explanations?

139

(12)

Introduction

139

(1)

Invisible-Hand Explanations in Their Causal Context

140

(2)

A Social Structure of Science

142

(2)

Invisible-Hand Explanations in Science

144

(4)

Conclusion

148

(3)

PART III TESTING OUR VIEWS ABOUT SCIENCE

A Function for Actual Examples in Philosophy of Science

151

(15)

Thought Experiments in Science

153

(5)

Thought Experiments in Philosophy of Science

158

(6)

Conclusion

164

(2)

The Evolution of Conceptual Systems in Science

166

(19)

Models of Conceptual Selection in Science

169

(5)

Gathering Data to Test Models of Science

174

(4)

The Demic Structure of Science

178

(5)

Conclusion

183

(2)

Testing Philosophical Claims about Science

185

(11)

Testing Meta-Level Claims

186

(2)

Idealizations

188

(2)

Studying Science

190

(2)

Operationalizing in the Study of Science

192

(2)

Normative Claims about Science

194

(2)

That Just Don't Sound Right: A Plea for Real Examples

196

(26)

Biological Species

205

(8)

Natural Kinds

213

(5)

Conclusion

218

(4)

Studying the Study of Science Scientifically

222

(21)

Planck's Principle

226

(5)

Birth Order and Science

231

(2)

The Role of Novel Predictions in Science

233

(5)

Conclusion

238

(5)

References

243

(20)

Index

263

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Science and Selection: Essays on Biological Evolution and the Philosophy of Science

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