Eliminative Pluralism and Integrative Alternatives
The Case of species
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8399535 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew J Barker (Concordia University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 657-681 |
| Publication date | 2019-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axx057 |
| OpenAlex | W2769232888 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 40 |
Pluralisms of various sorts are popular in philosophy of science, including those that imply some scientific concept x should be eliminated from science in favour of a plurality of (typically more specific) concepts x1, x2, ... xn. This article focuses on influential and representative arguments for such eliminative pluralism about the concept species. The main conclusions are that these arguments fail, that all other extant arguments also fail, and that this reveals a quite general dilemma, one that poses a defeasible presumption against many eliminative pluralisms about various scientific concepts. The article ends by outlining a novel integrative alternative in defence of species. 1. Introduction2. The species Concept, the Category ‘Species’, and the ‘Species’ Category Problem3. What Are Eliminative Pluralism about species, and the Arguments for It?4. Evaluation of Arguments 4.1. Splitting?4.2. Lumping?4.3. The eliminative pluralist’s dilemma5. More General Lessons6. Species Cohesion: An Integrative Alternative7. Conclusion
Biology · Creationism · Dilemma · Eliminative materialism · Epistemology · Evolutionary biology · Extant taxon · Pluralism (philosophy) · Political science · Presumption · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
The disorder of things
The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy
Animal Species and Evolution
Principles of Animal Taxonomy
Science, Truth, and Democracy
When Traditional Essentialism Fails
Species Concepts
Biological explanations, realism, ontology, and categories (Reviewing J. Dupré, Processes of life
Darwinian Metaphysics
Darwin’s solution to the species problem
Species Pluralism and Anti-Realism
Species
Deep Conventionalism about Evolutionary Groups
Species, Higher Taxa, and the Units of Evolution
Multilevel Lineages and Multidimensional Trees
Resurrecting Biological Essentialism
For Pluralism and Against Realism About Species
Evolution, Population Thinking, and Essentialism
Eliminative Pluralism
Specious Intrinsicalism
Natural Kindness
The Effect of Essentialism on Taxonomy—two Thousand Years of Stasis (I)
Moral Realism
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |