BIOLOGY & RELATED

The International Society for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology

ISHPSSB brings together scholars from diverse disciplines, including the life sciences as well as history, philosophy, and social studies of science.

The Huxley File

This, THE HUXLEY FILE, is addressed to an audience ranging from those who never heard of Thomas Henry Huxley to those who are familiar with him and may even have read some of his work. For specific guidance on the various subjects he wrote about - fields ranging from the design of marine invertebrate structure to the design of a good human society - the cybernaut may refer to any of the 21 guides concluding this preview. Selections in THE HUXLEY FILE that appear only in obscure Victorian magazines or hidden archives will be of interest to those who do know him and may even have studied and published on him.

Salon interviewWith Steven Jay Gould

In the popular mind, Darwin's great discovery was that apes were our ancestors. To Stephen Jay Gould, that's not the half of it. The Darwinian ideas that people really have a hard time embracing, he maintains, are the implications of natural selection -- a theory that explains the development of Homo sapiens without reference to any sort of divine plan or vision of progress.

The Visible Human Project

The Visible Human Project is an outgrowth of the NLM's 1986 Long-Range Plan. It is creating a complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the male and female human body. The current phase of the project is collecting transverse CAT, MRI and cryosection images of representative male and female cadavers at one millimeter intervals. The long-term goal of the Visible Human Project is to produce a system of knowledge structures that will transparently link visual knowledge forms to symbolic knowledge formats such as the names of body parts.

MicroVision - Dennis Kunkel

Avid exploration of the microscopic world has prompted Dr. Kunkel to find accessible means by which all may view it's beauty and mystery. Involvement with educational projects has enabled him to produce an extensive collection of optical and electron micrographs (Image Gallery). Through optical light microscopy he specializes in photographing biological specimens and crystals of vitamins, hormones and chemical substances. His electron micrography collection consists of thousands of images depicting the fine details of biological systems and non-biological subjects.

Philosophy of Biology

Welcome to Virginia Tech's philosophy of biology seminar. Below are links relevant to current issues in philosophy of biology, including commentaries written and posted by my students. Please feel free to browse. Any comments on this page should be directed to Valerie Hardcastle.

National Center for Genome Resources

The National Center for Genome Resources is a not-for-profit organization created to design, develop, support, and deliver resources in support of public and private genome research.

The vision of the National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) originated in a meeting held in December of 1992 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici, along with leaders from the national business and scientific communities, identified the need for a center to facilitate the flow of information and resources from the Human Genome Project into both public and private sectors. Funds to initiate operation of the Center were obtained from the U.S. Small Business Administration, and a Task Force of scientists and business leaders was assembled to develop an organizational structure. A broadly based Board of Governors was appointed to provide direction and strategy for the Center's development.

Evolution: Theory and History

An on-line exhibit of the UC-Berkeley Musem of Paleontology. The theory of evolution, formalized by Charles Darwin, is as much theory as is the theory of gravity, or the theory of relativity. Unlike theories of physics, biological theories, and especially evolution, have been argued long and hard in socio-political arenas. Even today, evolution is not often taught in primary schools. However, evolution is the binding force of all biological research. It is the unifying theme. In paleontology, evolution gives workers a powerful way to organize the remains of past life and better understand the one history of life. The history of thought about evolution in general and paleontological contributions specifically are often useful to the workers of today. Science, like any iterative process, draws heavily from its history.

OTHER AND GENERAL SCIENCE

ScientificAmerican

Online version.

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

For over forty years the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science has published the best international work in the philosophy of science under a distinguished list of editors including A.C. Crombie, Mary Hesse, D. H. Mellor and Imre Lakatos.

Philosophy of Science Association

The Philosophy of Science Association aims to further studies and free discussion from diverse standpoints in the field of philosophy of science. To this end, the PSA engages in activities such as: the publishing of periodicals, essays and monographs in this field; sponsoring conventions and meetings; and the awarding of prizes for distinguished work in the field.

History of Science Society

The History of Science Society is the world's largest society dedicated to understanding science, technology, medicine, and their interactions with society in their historical context. Founded over sixty-five years ago, it is the oldest such society. Through its publications and other activities, the Society provides scholars, decisions makers and the public with historical perspectives on science policy and on the potentials, achievements, and the limitations of basic and applied science.

NC State Program on Science, Technology, & Society

Science, Technology & Society is an interdisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand the many ways that modern science and technology shape modern culture, values, and institutions, and how modern values shape science and technology. We all depend heavily upon science and technology, and STS studies how science and technology emerge, how they enter society, how they change through social processes, and how society changes, as well.

The Committee on the History and Philosophy of Science

CHPS directs graduate curricula in the history and philosophy of science and technology.

History of Philosophy of Science Working Group

HOPOS is an informal, international working group of scholars who share an interest in promoting serious, scholarly research on the history of the philosophy of science and related topics in the history of the natural and social sciences, logic, philosophy, and mathematics. We interpret this statement of shared interest broadly, meaning to include all historical periods and diverse methodologies. We aim to promote historical work in a variety of ways, including the sponsorship of meetings and conference sessions, the publication of special issues of journals, the dissemination of information about libraries, archives and collections, and, as more ambitious projects become feasible, the preparation of bibliographies and finding guides.