Potochnik, Angela (2013) Defusing Ideological Defenses in Biology. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Ideological language is widespread in theoretical biology. Evolutionary game theory has been defended as a worldview and a leap of faith, and sexual selection theory has been criticized for what it posits as basic to biological nature. Views such as these encourage the impression of ideological rifts in the field. I advocate an alternative interpretation, whereby many disagreements between different camps of biologists merely reflect methodological differences. This interpretation provides a more accurate and more optimistic account of the state of play in the field of biology. It also helps account for biologists' tendency to embrace ideological positions.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Potochnik, Angela
Keywords:	evolutionary biology, game theory, modeling, idealization
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Models and Idealization
Depositing User:	Angela Potochnik
Date Deposited:	12 May 2021 03:06
Last Modified:	12 May 2021 03:06
Item ID:	19010
Journal or Publication Title:	BioScience
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1525/bio.2013.63.2.7
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Models and Idealization
Date:	2013
Page Range:	pp. 118-123
Volume:	63
Number:	2
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19010

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