Yasha Nicholas Rohwer
Biographic Data
| ID | 5995876 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Yasha Nicholas Rohwer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Yasha Nicholas |
| FAMILY NAME | Rohwer |
| SIGNATURE | ROHWER Y N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Oregon Institute of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6765-770X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Value pluralism supports portfolio approaches in conservation
Portfolio approaches have gained support in conservation as they offer advantages similar to well-balanced investment portfolios. In this essay, we argue there are also ethical reasons to support portfolio approaches to conservation problems. First, we argue that value pluralism—the thesis that there are many diverse values, as opposed to a singular value—is the appropriate way to think about the value of ecosystems. We then argue that accepting …
Gene Drives and Island Rodent Eradications: Ethics, Animal Welfare, and Conservation
Proposals to eradicate rodents threatening native seabird populations on islands using tools including poisons and—potentially—gene drives are becoming increasingly common. Focusing on the case of Gough Island, we analyze such proposals from two ethical perspectives—the value of the lives and welfare of individuals, and the conservation value of saving populations. We argue that from many ethical positions, and for both welfare and conservation r…
Ecosystem integrity as a normative idealization
Evolution Is Not Good
Many environmental ethicists think evolutionary processes are good or, put differently, that they are morally valuable. Furthermore, many claim this value can be compromised when humans disrupt or cause a break in these processes. In this paper, I argue this account is mistaken. Evolution is not good. Furthermore, evolution cannot be “broken” by mere human involvement. There is no preordained trajectory in evolution; randomness, genetic drift, an…
Justifying an Intentional Species Extinction: The Case of Anopheles gambiae
Each year, over 200 million people are infected with the malaria parasite, nearly half a million of whom succumb to the disease. Emerging genetic technologies could, in theory, eliminate the burden of malaria throughout the world by intentionally eradicating the mosquitoes that transmit the disease. In this paper, we offer an ethical examination of the intentional eradication of Anopheles gambiae, the main malaria vector of sub-Saharan Africa. In…
Infringing upon Environmental Autonomy with the Aim of Enabling It
Part of what makes the environment valuable is its autonomy. There are some who think that any human influence on an environment is necessarily autonomy-compromising because it is a form of human control. In this article, I will assume human influence on the environment necessarily undermines autonomy. However, I will argue, even given this assumption, it is still possible for the intervention to enable autonomy in the long run. My focus is on ge…
Explanatory schema and the process of model building
Galton, reversion and the quincunx: The rise of statistical explanation
Autonomous-Statistical Explanations and Natural Selection
Shapiro and Sober ([2007]) claim that Walsh, Ariew, Lewens, and Matthen (henceforth WALM) give a mistaken, a priori defense of natural selection and drift as epiphenomenal. Contrary to Shapiro and Sober’s claims, we first argue that WALM’s explanatory doctrine does not require a defense of epiphenomenalism. We then defend WALM’s explanatory doctrine by arguing that the explanations provided by the modern genetical theory of natural selection are …
Lucky understanding without knowledge
Hypothetical Pattern Idealization and Explanatory Models
Highly idealized models, such as the Hawk-Dove game, are pervasive in biological theorizing. We argue that the process and motivation that leads to the introduction of various idealizations into these models is not adequately captured by Michael Weisberg’s taxonomy of three kinds of idealization. Consequently, a fourth kind of idealization is required, which we call hypothetical pattern idealization . This kind of idealization is used to construc…
Hierarchy Maintenance, Coalition Formation, and the Origins of Altruistic Punishment
Game theory has played a critical role in elucidating the evolutionary origins of social behavior. Sober and Wilson (1999) model altruism as a prisoner's dilemma and claim that this model indicates that altruism arose from group selection pressures. Sober and Wilson also suggest that the prisoner's dilemma model can be used to characterize punishment; hence, punishment too originated from group selection pressures. However, empirical evidence sug…
Hypothetical Pattern Idealization and Explanatory Models
Highly idealized models, such as the Hawk-Dove game, are pervasive in biological theorizing. We argue that the process and motivation that leads to the introduction of various idealizations into these models is not adequately captured by Michael Weisberg’s taxonomy of three kinds of idealization. Consequently, a fourth kind of idealization is required, which we call hypothetical pattern idealization . This kind of idealization is used to construc…
Autonomous-Statistical Explanations and Natural Selection
Shapiro and Sober ([2007]) claim that Walsh, Ariew, Lewens, and Matthen (henceforth WALM) give a mistaken, a priori defense of natural selection and drift as epiphenomenal. Contrary to Shapiro and Sober’s claims, we first argue that WALM’s explanatory doctrine does not require a defense of epiphenomenalism. We then defend WALM’s explanatory doctrine by arguing that the explanations provided by the modern genetical theory of natural selection are …
Galton, reversion and the quincunx: The rise of statistical explanation
Infringing upon Environmental Autonomy with the Aim of Enabling It
Part of what makes the environment valuable is its autonomy. There are some who think that any human influence on an environment is necessarily autonomy-compromising because it is a form of human control. In this article, I will assume human influence on the environment necessarily undermines autonomy. However, I will argue, even given this assumption, it is still possible for the intervention to enable autonomy in the long run. My focus is on ge…
Explanatory schema and the process of model building
Lucky understanding without knowledge
Hierarchy Maintenance, Coalition Formation, and the Origins of Altruistic Punishment
Game theory has played a critical role in elucidating the evolutionary origins of social behavior. Sober and Wilson (1999) model altruism as a prisoner's dilemma and claim that this model indicates that altruism arose from group selection pressures. Sober and Wilson also suggest that the prisoner's dilemma model can be used to characterize punishment; hence, punishment too originated from group selection pressures. However, empirical evidence sug…
Hierarchy Maintenance, Coalition Formation, and the Origins of Altruistic Punishment
Game theory has played a critical role in elucidating the evolutionary origins of social behavior. Sober and Wilson (1999) model altruism as a prisoner's dilemma and claim that this model indicates that altruism arose from group selection pressures. Sober and Wilson also suggest that the prisoner's dilemma model can be used to characterize punishment; hence, punishment too originated from group selection pressures. However, empirical evidence sug…
Hypothetical Pattern Idealization and Explanatory Models
Highly idealized models, such as the Hawk-Dove game, are pervasive in biological theorizing. We argue that the process and motivation that leads to the introduction of various idealizations into these models is not adequately captured by Michael Weisberg’s taxonomy of three kinds of idealization. Consequently, a fourth kind of idealization is required, which we call hypothetical pattern idealization . This kind of idealization is used to construc…
Lucky understanding without knowledge
Autonomous-Statistical Explanations and Natural Selection
Shapiro and Sober ([2007]) claim that Walsh, Ariew, Lewens, and Matthen (henceforth WALM) give a mistaken, a priori defense of natural selection and drift as epiphenomenal. Contrary to Shapiro and Sober’s claims, we first argue that WALM’s explanatory doctrine does not require a defense of epiphenomenalism. We then defend WALM’s explanatory doctrine by arguing that the explanations provided by the modern genetical theory of natural selection are …
Galton, reversion and the quincunx: The rise of statistical explanation
Explanatory schema and the process of model building
Justifying an Intentional Species Extinction: The Case of Anopheles gambiae
Each year, over 200 million people are infected with the malaria parasite, nearly half a million of whom succumb to the disease. Emerging genetic technologies could, in theory, eliminate the burden of malaria throughout the world by intentionally eradicating the mosquitoes that transmit the disease. In this paper, we offer an ethical examination of the intentional eradication of Anopheles gambiae, the main malaria vector of sub-Saharan Africa. In…
Infringing upon Environmental Autonomy with the Aim of Enabling It
Part of what makes the environment valuable is its autonomy. There are some who think that any human influence on an environment is necessarily autonomy-compromising because it is a form of human control. In this article, I will assume human influence on the environment necessarily undermines autonomy. However, I will argue, even given this assumption, it is still possible for the intervention to enable autonomy in the long run. My focus is on ge…
Evolution Is Not Good
Many environmental ethicists think evolutionary processes are good or, put differently, that they are morally valuable. Furthermore, many claim this value can be compromised when humans disrupt or cause a break in these processes. In this paper, I argue this account is mistaken. Evolution is not good. Furthermore, evolution cannot be “broken” by mere human involvement. There is no preordained trajectory in evolution; randomness, genetic drift, an…
Gene Drives and Island Rodent Eradications: Ethics, Animal Welfare, and Conservation
Proposals to eradicate rodents threatening native seabird populations on islands using tools including poisons and—potentially—gene drives are becoming increasingly common. Focusing on the case of Gough Island, we analyze such proposals from two ethical perspectives—the value of the lives and welfare of individuals, and the conservation value of saving populations. We argue that from many ethical positions, and for both welfare and conservation r…
Ecosystem integrity as a normative idealization
Value pluralism supports portfolio approaches in conservation
Portfolio approaches have gained support in conservation as they offer advantages similar to well-balanced investment portfolios. In this essay, we argue there are also ethical reasons to support portfolio approaches to conservation problems. First, we argue that value pluralism—the thesis that there are many diverse values, as opposed to a singular value—is the appropriate way to think about the value of ecosystems. We then argue that accepting …
Epistemology (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Philosophy and History of Science (7 works) · Biology (6 works) · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation (4 works) · Philosophy of science (4 works) · Idealization (3 works) · Mathematics (3 works) · Metaphysics (3 works)