Incommensurability and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis : taking Kuhn seriously
(2022) In European Journal for Philosophy of Science 12(2).- Abstract
In this paper, we analyze the debate between the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis in light of the concept of incommensurability developed by Thomas Kuhn. In order to do so, first we briefly present both the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. Then, we clarify the meaning and interpretations of incommensurability throughout Kuhn’s works, concluding that the version of this concept deployed in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is the best suited to the analysis of scientific disputes. After discussing incommensurability in Kuhn’s works, we address the question of whether the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis can be considered semantically, methodologically, and... (More)
In this paper, we analyze the debate between the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis in light of the concept of incommensurability developed by Thomas Kuhn. In order to do so, first we briefly present both the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. Then, we clarify the meaning and interpretations of incommensurability throughout Kuhn’s works, concluding that the version of this concept deployed in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is the best suited to the analysis of scientific disputes. After discussing incommensurability in Kuhn’s works, we address the question of whether the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis can be considered semantically, methodologically, and ontologically incommensurable, concluding that they can. Finally, we discuss three problems that arise from such a conclusion: firstly, what are the consequences of incommensurability; secondly, which mode of scientific change better explains this current dispute in evolutionary biology; and thirdly, whether rational theory comparison is possible given incommensurability. We suggest that the main consequence of incommensurability is profound disagreement, that the kind of scientific change that better explains the current dispute between the MS and the EES may be scientific specialization, and that incommensurability does not preclude rational theory comparison.
(Less)
- author
- Gefaell, Juan LU and Saborido, Cristian
- publishing date
- 2022-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- Evolutionary biology, Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, Incommensurability, Modern synthesis, Scientific specialization, Thomas S. Kuhn
- in
- European Journal for Philosophy of Science
- volume
- 12
- issue
- 2
- article number
- 24
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85127287271
- ISSN
- 1879-4912
- DOI
- 10.1007/s13194-022-00456-y
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
- id
- 0808d201-02db-4255-8420-7765de1b9d6b
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-27 13:58:05
- date last changed
- 2025-02-05 09:22:11
@article{0808d201-02db-4255-8420-7765de1b9d6b,
abstract = {{<p>In this paper, we analyze the debate between the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis in light of the concept of incommensurability developed by Thomas Kuhn. In order to do so, first we briefly present both the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. Then, we clarify the meaning and interpretations of incommensurability throughout Kuhn’s works, concluding that the version of this concept deployed in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is the best suited to the analysis of scientific disputes. After discussing incommensurability in Kuhn’s works, we address the question of whether the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis can be considered semantically, methodologically, and ontologically incommensurable, concluding that they can. Finally, we discuss three problems that arise from such a conclusion: firstly, what are the consequences of incommensurability; secondly, which mode of scientific change better explains this current dispute in evolutionary biology; and thirdly, whether rational theory comparison is possible given incommensurability. We suggest that the main consequence of incommensurability is profound disagreement, that the kind of scientific change that better explains the current dispute between the MS and the EES may be scientific specialization, and that incommensurability does not preclude rational theory comparison.</p>}},
author = {{Gefaell, Juan and Saborido, Cristian}},
issn = {{1879-4912}},
keywords = {{Evolutionary biology; Extended Evolutionary Synthesis; Incommensurability; Modern synthesis; Scientific specialization; Thomas S. Kuhn}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{European Journal for Philosophy of Science}},
title = {{Incommensurability and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis : taking Kuhn seriously}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13194-022-00456-y}},
doi = {{10.1007/s13194-022-00456-y}},
volume = {{12}},
year = {{2022}},
}