Marcel Weber
Biographic Data
| ID | 3785933 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Marcel Weber |
| GIVEN NAMES | Marcel |
| FAMILY NAME | Weber |
| SIGNATURE | WEBER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Saarland University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0507-0070 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 60 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
A Kick to Desire: National Teams’ Performance During the Uefa Euro 2024 Affected the Frequency With Which Europeans Experienced Sexual Events
Major sporting events exert manifold influences on people’s intra- and interpersonal experiences. Preliminary findings suggest that they affect sexuality, but the evidence has been limited to population-level outcomes such as birth rates. Direct, individual-level evidence and research on underlying processes are missing. In this preregistered study, we investigated the relationship between the success of national men’s soccer teams during the UEF…
Sexual (Double) Standards Revisited: Similarities and Differences in the Societal Evaluation of Male and Female Sexuality
Past research has been inconclusive regarding the continued existence of the sexual double standard (SDS)—that is, differential expectations and evaluations of sexual activity for men (rewarded for sexual activity) and women (punished for sexual activity). Here, we present the similarities and differences (S&D) model of sexual standards, which significantly qualifies the traditional SDS by highlighting both similarities and differences between st…
Depression diagnosis from patient interviews using multimodal machine learning
Multimodal analysis of patient interviews using machine learning may serve as a valuable adjunct to psychiatric evaluation. By combining speech, language, and clinical features, this approach provides a robust framework that could enhance early detection of depressive disorders and support evidence-based decision-making in mental healthcare
Public Communication about Science in 68 Countries: Global Evidence on How People Encounter and Engage with Information about Science
This 68-country survey ( n = 71,922) examines science information diets and communication behavior, identifies cross-country differences, and tests how such differences are associated with sociopolitical and economic conditions. We find that social media are the most used sources of science information in most countries, except those with democratic-corporatist media systems where news media tend to be used more widely. People in collectivist soc…
Victims of Conspiracies? An Examination of the Relationship Between Conspiracy Beliefs and Dispositional Individual Victimhood
Conspiracy beliefs have been linked to perceptions of collective victimhood. We adopt an individual perspective on victimhood by investigating the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and the individual disposition to perceive and react to injustice as a victim, i.e., victim justice sensitivity (VJS). Data from two German samples (Ns = 370, 373) indicated a positive association between VJS and conspiracy mentality beyond conceptually related c…
Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most p…
Development and Validation of the Trait Sexual Motivation Scale (TSMS)
Sexual motivation, the interest in sexual activity, affects people’s thinking, feeling, and behavior. Common scales used to assess sexual motivation suffer from drawbacks that limit their validity and applicability. We therefore developed and validated the Trait Sexual Motivation Scale (TSMS), a brief, theory-driven self-report scale, over the course of four preregistered studies (Ntotal = 2,083). Results indicated good model fit, high internal c…
Gender differences in sex drive: Reply to Conley and Yang (2024)
Our meta-analysis on gender differences in sex drive found a stronger sex drive in men compared to women (Frankenbach et al., 2022). Conley and Yang (2024) criticized how we interpreted the findings and provided suggestions regarding the origins of these gender differences, an undertaking that we had refrained from doing in our original work. We concur with several important points made by Conley and Yang (2024): (a) women's sexual experiences ar…
Sex drive: Theoretical conceptualization and meta-analytic review of gender differences
0.54). Moderation analyses suggest that the effect is robust and largely invariant to contextual factors. There was no evidence of publication bias. The discussion focuses on validity considerations, limitations, and implications for psychological theory and people's everyday lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
The Theory of Marginal Utility and the “Basic Psychophysical Law”
.
How objective are biological functions
Which Kind of Causal Specificity Matters Biologically
Paul Griffiths et al. have proposed a quantitative measure of causal specificity and used it to assess various attempts to single out genetic causes as being causally more specific than other cellular mechanisms, for example, alternative splicing. Focusing in particular on developmental processes, they have identified a number of important challenges for this project. In this discussion note, I would like to show how these challenges can be met
On the Incompatibility of Dynamical Biological Mechanisms and Causal Graphs
I examine to what extent accounts of mechanisms based on formal interventionist theories of causality can adequately represent biological mechanisms with complex dynamics. Using a differential equation model for a circadian clock mechanism as an example, I first show that there exists an iterative solution that can be interpreted as a structural causal model. Thus, in principle, it is possible to integrate causal difference-making information wit…
New Directions in the Philosophy of Science
Experimental Modeling in Biology: In Vivo Representation and Stand-Ins as Modeling Strategies
Experimental modeling in biology involves the use of living organisms (not necessarily so-called model organisms) in order to model or simulate biological processes. I argue here that experimental modeling is a bona fide form of scientific modeling that plays an epistemic role that is distinct from that of ordinary biological experiments. What distinguishes them from ordinary experiments is that they use what I call “in vivo representations,” whe…
Probabilities, Laws, and Structures
Collective Epistemology
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...” This collection of essays addresses a philosophical problem raised by the first clause of these famous words. Does each signatory of the Declaration of Independence hold these truths individually, do they share some kind of a common attitude, or is there a single subject over and above the heads of its individual members that possesses a belief? “Collective Epistemology” …
The Crux of Crucial Experiments: Duhem's Problems and Inference to the Best Explanation
Going back at least to Duhem, there is a tradition of thinking that crucial experiments are impossible in science. I analyse Duhem's arguments and show that they are based on the excessively strong assumption that only deductive reasoning is permissible in experimental science. This opens the possibility that some principle of inductive inference could provide a sufficient reason for preferring one among a group of hypotheses on the basis of an a…
Menschliches Leben
Human existence and its temporal limits are central themes of western culture. In addition to discussing fundamental metaphysical questions (what distinguishes a living from a dead thing?) and ethical questions (what status does a human embryo have?), this book examines questions surrounding the possibility of radically extending one's life through new a anti-aging therapies. Does adding years to one's life make one happier
Causes without Mechanisms: Experimental Regularities, Physical Laws, and Neuroscientific Explanation
This article examines the role of experimental generalizations and physical laws in neuroscientific explanations, using Hodgkin and Huxley's electrophysiological model from 1952 as a test case. I show that the fact that the model was partly fitted to experimental data did not affect its explanatory status, nor did the false mechanistic assumptions made by Hodgkin and Huxley. The model satisfies two important criteria of explanatory status: it con…
Redesigning the Fruit Fly: The Molecularization of Drosophila
Indeterminism in Neurobiology
I examine different arguments that could be used to establish indeterminism of neurological processes. Even though scenarios where single events at the molecular level make the difference in the outcome of such processes are realistic, this falls short of establishing indeterminism, because it is not clear that these molecular events are subject to quantum mechanical uncertainty. Furthermore, attempts to argue for indeterminism autonomously (i.e.…
Philosophy of Experimental Biology
"Philosophy of Experimental Biology explores some central philosophical issues concerning scientific research in modern experimental biology, including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, and microbiology. It seeks to make sense of the explanatory strategies, concepts, ways of reasoning, approaches to discovery and problem solving, tools, models, and experimental systems deployed by modern life science …
Philosophy of Experimental Biology
Philosophy of Experimental Biology explores some central philosophical issues concerning scientific research in experimental biology, including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, and microbiology. It seeks to make sense of the explanatory strategies, concepts, ways of reasoning, approaches to discovery and problem solving, tools, models and experimental systems deployed by scientific life science resea…
Geschichte der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft im Nationalsozialismus
Causes without Mechanisms: Experimental Regularities, Physical Laws, and Neuroscientific Explanation
This article examines the role of experimental generalizations and physical laws in neuroscientific explanations, using Hodgkin and Huxley's electrophysiological model from 1952 as a test case. I show that the fact that the model was partly fitted to experimental data did not affect its explanatory status, nor did the false mechanistic assumptions made by Hodgkin and Huxley. The model satisfies two important criteria of explanatory status: it con…
Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most p…
Experimental Modeling in Biology: In Vivo Representation and Stand-Ins as Modeling Strategies
Experimental modeling in biology involves the use of living organisms (not necessarily so-called model organisms) in order to model or simulate biological processes. I argue here that experimental modeling is a bona fide form of scientific modeling that plays an epistemic role that is distinct from that of ordinary biological experiments. What distinguishes them from ordinary experiments is that they use what I call “in vivo representations,” whe…
The Crux of Crucial Experiments: Duhem's Problems and Inference to the Best Explanation
Going back at least to Duhem, there is a tradition of thinking that crucial experiments are impossible in science. I analyse Duhem's arguments and show that they are based on the excessively strong assumption that only deductive reasoning is permissible in experimental science. This opens the possibility that some principle of inductive inference could provide a sufficient reason for preferring one among a group of hypotheses on the basis of an a…
Which Kind of Causal Specificity Matters Biologically
Paul Griffiths et al. have proposed a quantitative measure of causal specificity and used it to assess various attempts to single out genetic causes as being causally more specific than other cellular mechanisms, for example, alternative splicing. Focusing in particular on developmental processes, they have identified a number of important challenges for this project. In this discussion note, I would like to show how these challenges can be met
On the Incompatibility of Dynamical Biological Mechanisms and Causal Graphs
I examine to what extent accounts of mechanisms based on formal interventionist theories of causality can adequately represent biological mechanisms with complex dynamics. Using a differential equation model for a circadian clock mechanism as an example, I first show that there exists an iterative solution that can be interpreted as a structural causal model. Thus, in principle, it is possible to integrate causal difference-making information wit…
How objective are biological functions
Theory testing in experimental biology: The chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis
Representing genes: Classical mapping techniques and the growth of genetical knowledge
Determinism, Realism, and Probability in Evolutionary Theory
Recent discussion of the statistical character of evolutionary theory has centered around two positions: (1) Determinism combined with the claim that the statistical character is eliminable, a subjective interpretation of probability, and instrumentalism; (2) Indeterminism combined with the claim that the statistical character is ineliminable, a propensity interpretation of probability, and realism. I point out some internal problems in these pos…
Fitness Made Physical: The Supervenience of Biological Concepts Revisited
The supervenience and multiple realizability of biological properties have been invoked to support a disunified picture of the biological sciences. I argue that supervenience does not capture the relation between fitness and an organism's physical properties. The actual relation is one of causal dependence and is, therefore, amenable to causal explanation. A case from optimality theory is presented and interpreted as a microreductive explanation …
Victims of Conspiracies? An Examination of the Relationship Between Conspiracy Beliefs and Dispositional Individual Victimhood
Conspiracy beliefs have been linked to perceptions of collective victimhood. We adopt an individual perspective on victimhood by investigating the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and the individual disposition to perceive and react to injustice as a victim, i.e., victim justice sensitivity (VJS). Data from two German samples (Ns = 370, 373) indicated a positive association between VJS and conspiracy mentality beyond conceptually related c…
Diversity of Life in a Changing World
The current anthropogenic loss of biological diversity is expected to have widespread ecological and social consequences. In this introductory article, we review some major research topics in the rapidly growing field of biodiversity research. Our primary concern is to show the tight connection of biodiversity with ecosystem and population processes. From this perspective, important questions concern the response of ecosystems to environmental ch…
On the Origin of Genetic Diversity
The organic diversity found in nature today is ultimately a consequence of a continuous cycle of building up genetic diversity, which is subsequently channeled by natural selection, chance events, and by geographic or other modes of speciation. Whereas modern evolutionary theory provides detailed explanations of the mechanisms channeling genetic diversity, little is known on the evolutionary forces responsible for the presence and the properties …
Reductionism, holism, and integrated approaches in biodiversity research
It is widely appreciated today that research towards the conservation of biological diversity should transcend the boundaries of the traditional disciplines within the life sciences and between the life and the social sciences. However, experience shows that conceptual and methodological problems can arise in attempts to integrate the contributions of scientists working in different fields, for example in genetics and ecology. These problems are …
Fitness Made Physical: The Supervenience of Biological Concepts Revisited
The supervenience and multiple realizability of biological properties have been invoked to support a disunified picture of the biological sciences. I argue that supervenience does not capture the relation between fitness and an organism's physical properties. The actual relation is one of causal dependence and is, therefore, amenable to causal explanation. A case from optimality theory is presented and interpreted as a microreductive explanation …
Representing genes: Classical mapping techniques and the growth of genetical knowledge
The Aim and Structure of Ecological Theory
I present an attempt at an explication of the ecological theory of interspecific competition, including its explanatory role in community ecology and evolutionary biology. The account given is based on the idea that law-like statements play an important role in scientific theories of this kind. I suggest that the principle of competitive exclusion is such a law, and that it is evolutionary invariant. The principle's empirical status is defended a…
Determinism, Realism, and Probability in Evolutionary Theory
Recent discussion of the statistical character of evolutionary theory has centered around two positions: (1) Determinism combined with the claim that the statistical character is eliminable, a subjective interpretation of probability, and instrumentalism; (2) Indeterminism combined with the claim that the statistical character is ineliminable, a propensity interpretation of probability, and realism. I point out some internal problems in these pos…
Geschichte der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft im Nationalsozialismus
Theory testing in experimental biology: The chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis
Philosophy of Experimental Biology
Philosophy of Experimental Biology explores some central philosophical issues concerning scientific research in experimental biology, including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, and microbiology. It seeks to make sense of the explanatory strategies, concepts, ways of reasoning, approaches to discovery and problem solving, tools, models and experimental systems deployed by scientific life science resea…
Indeterminism in Neurobiology
I examine different arguments that could be used to establish indeterminism of neurological processes. Even though scenarios where single events at the molecular level make the difference in the outcome of such processes are realistic, this falls short of establishing indeterminism, because it is not clear that these molecular events are subject to quantum mechanical uncertainty. Furthermore, attempts to argue for indeterminism autonomously (i.e.…
Philosophy of Experimental Biology
"Philosophy of Experimental Biology explores some central philosophical issues concerning scientific research in modern experimental biology, including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, and microbiology. It seeks to make sense of the explanatory strategies, concepts, ways of reasoning, approaches to discovery and problem solving, tools, models, and experimental systems deployed by modern life science …
Redesigning the Fruit Fly: The Molecularization of Drosophila
Causes without Mechanisms: Experimental Regularities, Physical Laws, and Neuroscientific Explanation
This article examines the role of experimental generalizations and physical laws in neuroscientific explanations, using Hodgkin and Huxley's electrophysiological model from 1952 as a test case. I show that the fact that the model was partly fitted to experimental data did not affect its explanatory status, nor did the false mechanistic assumptions made by Hodgkin and Huxley. The model satisfies two important criteria of explanatory status: it con…
The Crux of Crucial Experiments: Duhem's Problems and Inference to the Best Explanation
Going back at least to Duhem, there is a tradition of thinking that crucial experiments are impossible in science. I analyse Duhem's arguments and show that they are based on the excessively strong assumption that only deductive reasoning is permissible in experimental science. This opens the possibility that some principle of inductive inference could provide a sufficient reason for preferring one among a group of hypotheses on the basis of an a…
Menschliches Leben
Human existence and its temporal limits are central themes of western culture. In addition to discussing fundamental metaphysical questions (what distinguishes a living from a dead thing?) and ethical questions (what status does a human embryo have?), this book examines questions surrounding the possibility of radically extending one's life through new a anti-aging therapies. Does adding years to one's life make one happier
Collective Epistemology
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...” This collection of essays addresses a philosophical problem raised by the first clause of these famous words. Does each signatory of the Declaration of Independence hold these truths individually, do they share some kind of a common attitude, or is there a single subject over and above the heads of its individual members that possesses a belief? “Collective Epistemology” …
Probabilities, Laws, and Structures
New Directions in the Philosophy of Science
Experimental Modeling in Biology: In Vivo Representation and Stand-Ins as Modeling Strategies
Experimental modeling in biology involves the use of living organisms (not necessarily so-called model organisms) in order to model or simulate biological processes. I argue here that experimental modeling is a bona fide form of scientific modeling that plays an epistemic role that is distinct from that of ordinary biological experiments. What distinguishes them from ordinary experiments is that they use what I call “in vivo representations,” whe…
On the Incompatibility of Dynamical Biological Mechanisms and Causal Graphs
I examine to what extent accounts of mechanisms based on formal interventionist theories of causality can adequately represent biological mechanisms with complex dynamics. Using a differential equation model for a circadian clock mechanism as an example, I first show that there exists an iterative solution that can be interpreted as a structural causal model. Thus, in principle, it is possible to integrate causal difference-making information wit…
How objective are biological functions
Which Kind of Causal Specificity Matters Biologically
Paul Griffiths et al. have proposed a quantitative measure of causal specificity and used it to assess various attempts to single out genetic causes as being causally more specific than other cellular mechanisms, for example, alternative splicing. Focusing in particular on developmental processes, they have identified a number of important challenges for this project. In this discussion note, I would like to show how these challenges can be met
The Theory of Marginal Utility and the “Basic Psychophysical Law”
.
Sex drive: Theoretical conceptualization and meta-analytic review of gender differences
0.54). Moderation analyses suggest that the effect is robust and largely invariant to contextual factors. There was no evidence of publication bias. The discussion focuses on validity considerations, limitations, and implications for psychological theory and people's everyday lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Epistemology (16 works) · Philosophy (16 works) · Philosophy and History of Science (13 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Political science (8 works) · Biology (7 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works)