Contemporary Nativism, Scientific Texture, and the Moral Limits of Free Inquiry

Philosophy of Science 72 (5):1220-1231 (2005)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Some thinkers distrust Darwinist explorations of complex human behaviors, particularly investigations into possible differences in valued skills between genders, races or classes. Such projects, it is claimed, tend to have adverse effects on people who are already disadvantaged. A recent argument by Philip Kitcher both clarifies and generalizes this charge to cover a whole genre of scientific projects. In this paper I try to spell out and analyze Kitcher's argument. The argument fails, I suggest, because some of its key premises fail to convince. My analysis focuses on relevant facts about the role of inquiry in fallibilist contexts, the texture of belief in contemporary natural science, and the moral dimension of scientific research

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Person as Moralist and Scientist.Marcus Vinícius C. Baldo & Anouk Barberousse - 2010 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 33 (4):331.
Genuine Problems and the Significance of Science.Matthew J. Brown - 2010 - Contemporary Pragmatism 7 (2):131-153.
Shifting Frames: From Divided to Distributed Psychologies of Scientific Agents.Peter J. Taylor - 1994 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1994:304-310.
Scientific inquiry: readings in the philosophy of science.Robert Klee (ed.) - 1999 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Innateness and moral psychology.Shaun Nichols - 2005 - In Peter Carruthers, Stephen Laurence & Stephen Stich (eds.), The Innate Mind: Structure and Contents. New York: Oxford University Press New York. pp. 353--369.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
32 (#431,738)

6 months
2 (#668,348)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Alberto Cordero
CUNY Graduate Center

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

The Mismeasure of Man.Stephen Jay Gould - 1984 - Journal of the History of Biology 17 (1):141-145.
Abusing Science--The Case against Creationism.Philip Kitcher - 1985 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 36 (1):85-89.
Human Nature after Darwin.Janet Radcliffe Richards - 2002 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 64 (4):808-808.

Add more references