By Stephen Webster Cambridge University Press, 2003 FROM THE BACK COVER Thinking About Biology is intended for biology students who are interested in reflecting on the wider contexts of their studies. The book encourages students to see that biology does not deliver certainties; it discusses how biological ideas become established facts; and it uses history to examine how ideas change and to show that the biological facts that form the basis of a biology course are also likely to change. Each chapter is based on biological topics, and examines them for their philosophical, social and political implications. Topics covered include the role of natural selection in evolution, the history of ideas about fertilisation and inheritance, vivisection and reductionism. Genetically modified foods, xenotransplantation, eugenics and genetic testing are some of the controversial subjects discussed. Thinking About Biology should be essential reading for all college students already taking a course in the biological sciences, and for those contemplating such a course in the future. Stephen Webster is a lecturer in the Science Communication Group at Imperial College London, where he teaches the philosophy of science and research ethics. He is the author of three radio plays and several school biology textbooks. His current research project at Imperial College examines collaborative ventures between scientists and artists. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1. Facts? 5 The problem with cannabis 5 The making of the cell theory 9 The edge of the amoeba 19 How cells evolved 24 The philosophy of science 31 2. Reductionism 38 An introduction 38 Examples of reductionist research 42 The two faces of reductionism 44 The general problem of scientific explanation 47 Explanation through causation 50 Metaphysics and biology 52 A review of terminology 54 Anti-reductionist biology today 58 A case study: phenylketonuria (PKU) 61 In conclusion: the problem of determinism 64 3. Evolution 67 A philosophical introduction 67 The work of Charles Darwin 69 The question of time 73 The case of Jacques Deprat 77 The myth of the coelacanth 81 Life and the illusion of progress 85 Proximate and ultimate causes in biology 89 The concept of adaptation - and its teleology 91 The scope of natural selection 95 The 'unit' of natural selection 106 The Darwin wars 107 4. Biology and animals 109 Ethics in science: an introduction 114 Interventions: an introduction 114 Vivisection and dissection 116 Animal minds, human morals and the study of ethics 121 In conclusion 137 5. Controversies in biology 140 Controversies in biology - and in the media 140 The crisis of 'mad cow disease' 142 Genetically modified crops 150 Xenotransplantation 156 6. Making sense of genes 63 An introduction to the Human Genome Project 163 The philosophy of the Human Genome Project 166 The history of the Human Genome Project 170 Genetic testing: the case of Huntington's disease 172 Testing for the 'gene' for breast cancer 175 The future of the Human Genome Project 178 The commercialisation of the genome 180 Gene testing and the doctor-patient relationship 182 7. Biology and politics 187 How politics enters biology 187 The politics of Darwin 191 Eugenics: the genetic improvement of people 193 Measuring intelligence 196 Eugenics and genetics 198 Biology and the Nazis 202 The world view from evolutionary psychology 206 8. Research ethics 210 A conflict of interest 210 A code of conduct 212 Peer review 216 A historical overview 218 Theories of ethics 224 Index 229 WHERE TO ORDER: Cambridge University Press 110 Midland Avenue Port Chester, NY 10573-4930 General phone: (914)937-9600 General fax: (914)937-4712 www.us.cambridge.org ISBN: 0521599547 (paperback) $20.00 USD ISBN: 0521590509 (cloth) $55.00 USD Posted Date:7/16/2003
URL: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/review/thinking.html
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