History and Philosophy of Science: A Phylogenetic Approach

Lennox, James G. (2001) History and Philosophy of Science: A Phylogenetic Approach.

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Abstract

Kuhn closed the Introduction to The Structure of Scientific Revolutions with what was clearly intended as a rhetorical question:

How could history of science fail to be a source of phenomena to which theories about knowledge may legitimately be asked to apply? (Kuhn 1970, 9)
This paper argues that there is a more fruitful way of conceiving the relationship between a historical and philosophical study of science, which is dubbed the 'phylogenetic' approach. I sketch an example of this approach, and take a first pass at an abstract characterization of the method.

Keywords:HPS, fitness, natural selection, phylogenetic
Subjects:General Issues: History of Philosophy of Science
Conferences and Volumes:[2001] Pitt-London Workshop in the Philosophy of Biology and Neuroscience (London, September 2001)
ID Code:378
Deposited By:Lennox, James G.
Deposited On:21 August 2001