In Mendel's Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology - Softcover

Kitcher, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195151798 ISBN 13: 9780195151794

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2003

Synopsis

Philip Kitcher is one of the leading figures in the philosophy of science today. Here he collects, for the first time, many of his published articles on the philosophy of biology, spanning from the mid-1980's to the present.
The book's title refers to Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian monk who was one of the first scientists to develop a theory of heredity. Mendel's work has been deeply influential to our understanding of our selves and our world, just as the study of genetics today will have a profound and long-term impact on future scientific research. Kitcher's articles cover a broad range of topics with similar philosophical and social significance: sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, species, race, altruism, genetic determinism, and the rebirth of creationism in Intelligent Design.
Kitcher's work on the intersection of biology and the philosophy of science is both unprecedented and wide-ranging, and will appeal not only to philosophers of science, but to scholars and students across disciplines.

About this title

About the Author:

Philip Kitcher is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University and author of The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge(OUP, 1983); The Advancement of Science (OUP, 1993); and Science, Truth, and Democracy (OUP, 2001).

Review:

"What is most striking about the book is its uniformly high quality; although the volume runs to nearly four hundred pages, there are no space fillers here - each essay is substantive, penetrating, and authoritative.... In Mendel's Mirror performs the valuable service of collecting together some of the finest essays in philosophy of biology written in the past two decades, and gives a fascinating insight into Kitcher's intellectual development over that period."--Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"Reading these papers together in one volume drives home just how impressive Kitcher's contribution to our field is. This volume will undoubtedly stimulate debate and provide fuel for new research programs in philosophy of biology."--Stephen M. Downes, Biology and Philosophy

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0195151798
• ISBN 13: 9780195151794
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 410