Philosophy of Science and the History of Genetics

In my first dissertation in philosophy, Scientific Realism and the Concept of the Gene, I dealt with the issue of scientific realism by examining the development of the concept of the gene. I have published several articles on this and related topics, listed below:

  • ‘Experimentation, Realism, and the Historical Character of Science’, in Richard Creath & Jane Maienschein (eds.) Biology and Epistemology (1999), Cambridge University Press, pp. 215-243. 
  • ‘The Laws of Heredity and the Rules of Morality: Early Geneticists on Evolution and Ethics’, in Jane Maienschein & Michael Ruse (eds.) Biology and the Foundations of Ethics (1999), Cambridge University Press, pp. 225-256. 
  • ‘The Reception of Wilhelm Johannsen’s Concept of the Genotype in American Genetics’, special issue of The Journal of the Swedish Seed Association, published by the Svalof Plant Breeding Station, Sweden (1997), pp. 167-177. 
  • ‘Scientific Styles: Towards Some Common Ground in the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science’, Perspectives on Science (1995) 3: 231-254.
  • ‘Simplicity in Theory Construction and Evaluation: The Case of the Chromosome Theory of Mendelian Inheritance’, in D. Prawitz and D. Westerstahl (eds.), Logic and Philosophy of Science in Uppsala (1994), pp. 525-539.
  • ‘Is the History of Science Relevant to the Philosophy of Science?’ PSA (1992) 2: 490-496. 
  • ‘The Human Genome Project: Towards an Analysis of the Empirical, Ethical and Conceptual Issues Involved’, Biology and Philosophy (1992) 7: 255-278.  Reprinted in David Hull & Michael Ruse (eds.), Philosophy of Biology (1998) Oxford University Press.
  • ‘Realism and Simplicity in the Castle-East Debate on the Stability of the Hereditary Units: Rhetorical Devices Versus Substantive Methodology’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (1991) 22 (2): 201-221.
  • ‘The Chromosome Theory of Mendelian Inheritance:  Explanation and Realism in Theory Construction’, PSA (1990) 1: 179-193. 
  • ‘T. H. Morgan:  Neither an Epistemological Empiricist nor a “Methodological” Empiricist’, Biology and Philosophy (1990) 5: 293-311.

In Spanish:

  • ‘The Gene as the Atomic Unit of Inheritance’, in Arbor (1993) 566: 41-58.
  • ‘Molecular Genetics: The Partnership of Genetics and Cytochemistry in the Analysis of the Gene’s Nature’, Arbor (1992) 561: 9-28.
  • ‘Cytogenetics: The Search for the Physical Basis of the Genes’, Asclepio (1992) 44: 115-134.
  • ‘The Human Genome Project: Predictive Medicine and Preventive Ethics’, Arbor (1991) 544: 181-207.
  •  ‘The Importance of the Distinction Between Phenotype and Genotype in the Early Studies of Genetics’, Llull (1991) 14: 1-40.
  • ‘The Human Genome Project. An Interview with Santiago Grisolia’, Arbor (1991) 554: 161-173.
  • ‘The Problem of the Reference of Theoretical Concepts’, Contextos (1991) 8 (15-16): 95-111.
  • ‘The Atomism and Methodological Reductionism of Sociobiology’, Arbor (1991) 542: 49-68.