The Philosophy of Biology: A Companion for EducatorsKostas Kampourakis This book brings together for the first time philosophers of biology to write about some of the most central concepts and issues in their field from the perspective of biology education. The chapters of the book cover a variety of topics ranging from traditional ones, such as biological explanation, biology and religion or biology and ethics, to contemporary ones, such as genomics, systems biology or evolutionary developmental biology. Each of the 30 chapters covers the respective philosophical literature in detail and makes specific suggestions for biology education. The aim of this book is to inform biology educators, undergraduate and graduate students in biology and related fields, students in teacher training programs, and curriculum developers about the current state of discussion on the major topics in the philosophy of biology and its implications for teaching biology. In addition, the book can be valuable to philosophers of biology as an introductory text in undergraduate and graduate courses. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 31 | |
Biological Explanation | 49 |
What Would Natural Laws in the Life Sciences Be? | 66 |
At the Borderlands Between Historical and Experimental Science | 87 |
Evolutionary Theory and the Epistemology of Science | 101 |
Force Talk as a Case Study and Challenge for Science Pedagogy | 120 |
Debating the Power and Scope of Adaptation | 145 |
Microbiological Perspectives on Biology | 373 |
Essentialism in Biology | 395 |
The Need for History | 420 |
Roles Advantages and Organization | 455 |
Using Illustrations from Circadian Rhythm Research | 487 |
Information in the Biological Sciences | 511 |
Systems Biology and Education | 549 |
How Curriculum Reform in Genetics and Counterfactual History of Science Can Work Together | 576 |
The Case for Evolution | 161 |
The Implications of Evolutionary Biology for Religious Belief | 179 |
Philosophical and Pedagogical Points | 205 |
Molecular Evolution | 239 |
Educational Lessons from Evolutionary Properties of the Sexual Genome | 249 |
Nongenetic Inheritance and Evolution | 266 |
Homology | 289 |
Concepts Problems and Controversy | 323 |
Philosophical Issues in Ecology | 342 |
Could an Inclusive Concept of Genetic Material Effectively Replace Gene Concepts? | 597 |
Current Thinking About Nature and Nurture | 629 |
Why Discovery Matters | 653 |
Philosophical Issues in Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research | 686 |
Ethics in Biomedical Research and Practice | 705 |
Environmental Ethics | 723 |
Glossary | 744 |