John Dupré
Encyclopedia
John Dupré is a professional philosopher of science
. He is the director of the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society and professor of philosophy at the University of Exeter
. Dupré was educated at the University of Oxford
and the University of Cambridge
and taught at Oxford, Stanford University
and Birkbeck College
of the University of London
before moving to Exeter. Dupré's chief work area lies in philosophy of biology
, philosophy of the social sciences, and general philosophy of science. Dupré, together with Nancy Cartwright
, Ian Hacking
and Patrick Suppes
and Peter Galison
, are often grouped together as the "Stanford School" of philosophy of science
.
In 2010 Dupré was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in
recognition of his work on Darwinism, and became President-Elect of the British Society for the
Philosophy of Science. He is also an elected member of the governing board of the Philosophy of Science
Association (USA) and of the council of the International Society for the History Philosophy and Social
Studies of Biology.
as opposed to the common notion of reductionism
. Physical Reductionism suggests that all science may be reduced to physical explanations due to causal
or mereological
links that obtain between the objects studied in the higher sciences the objects studied by physics
. For example, a physical reductionist would see psychological
facts as (in principle) reducible to neurological
facts, which is in turn are reducible to biological
facts. Biology could then be explained in terms of chemistry
, and chemistry could then be explained in terms of physical explanation
. While reductionism of this sort is a common position among scientists and philosophers, Dupré suggests that such reduction is not possible as the world has an inherently pluralistic structure.
Dupré tries to escape this problem by rejecting determinism
, and the assumption that there is a physical cause for each and every event. In place of Determinism, Dupré proposes a conception of indeterministic, probabilistic causality
. His ideas are influenced by Nancy Cartwright
. The philosopher Karl Popper
represents a similar position.
and evolutionary psychology
. Dupré argues that such projects must remain speculative and reflect on the prejudices of the researchers as circumstances in the world.
Dupré is also concerned with the handling of biological taxonomy
. Biological classifications are made by human
s, and are thus open to criticism and modification. This applies in particular to the classifications of humans - for instance after race or sex
. Dupré's arguments in this area reflect and mirror the sentiments and criticism of evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould
.
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
. He is the director of the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society and professor of philosophy at the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
. Dupré was educated at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and taught at Oxford, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
before moving to Exeter. Dupré's chief work area lies in philosophy of biology
Philosophy of biology
The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences...
, philosophy of the social sciences, and general philosophy of science. Dupré, together with Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright (philosopher)
Nancy Cartwright FBA is a professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics and the University of California at San Diego, and a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship...
, Ian Hacking
Ian Hacking
Ian Hacking, CC, FRSC, FBA is a Canadian philosopher, specializing in the philosophy of science.- Life and works :...
and Patrick Suppes
Patrick Suppes
Patrick Colonel Suppes is an American philosopher who has made significant contributions to philosophy of science, the theory of measurement, the foundations of quantum mechanics, decision theory, psychology, and educational technology...
and Peter Galison
Peter Galison
Peter Louis Galison is the Pellegrino University Professor in History of Science and Physics at Harvard University.Galison received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in both Physics and the History of Science in 1983. His publications include Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics ...
, are often grouped together as the "Stanford School" of philosophy of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
.
In 2010 Dupré was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
in
recognition of his work on Darwinism, and became President-Elect of the British Society for the
Philosophy of Science. He is also an elected member of the governing board of the Philosophy of Science
Association (USA) and of the council of the International Society for the History Philosophy and Social
Studies of Biology.
Pluralistic Metaphysics
Dupré advocates a pluralistic model of scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
as opposed to the common notion of reductionism
Reductionism
Reductionism can mean either an approach to understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or to simpler or more fundamental things or a philosophical position that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can...
. Physical Reductionism suggests that all science may be reduced to physical explanations due to causal
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
or mereological
Mereology
In philosophy and mathematical logic, mereology treats parts and the wholes they form...
links that obtain between the objects studied in the higher sciences the objects studied by physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. For example, a physical reductionist would see psychological
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
facts as (in principle) reducible to neurological
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
facts, which is in turn are reducible to biological
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
facts. Biology could then be explained in terms of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and chemistry could then be explained in terms of physical explanation
Explanation
An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequencesof those facts....
. While reductionism of this sort is a common position among scientists and philosophers, Dupré suggests that such reduction is not possible as the world has an inherently pluralistic structure.
Determinism
A classical argument for reductionism relies on a particular conception of causality, according to which each event must have a sufficient physical cause. Physical interactions are therefore sufficient to account for all causal interactions. Under this assumption, psychological or biological facts must be eliminable in favour of physical facts, given that the physical conditions do all the causal work. This makes all the other, non-physical conditions causally superfluous.Dupré tries to escape this problem by rejecting determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
, and the assumption that there is a physical cause for each and every event. In place of Determinism, Dupré proposes a conception of indeterministic, probabilistic causality
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
. His ideas are influenced by Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright (philosopher)
Nancy Cartwright FBA is a professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics and the University of California at San Diego, and a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship...
. The philosopher Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
represents a similar position.
Philosophy of Biology
Dupré is an important critic of biological research programs in the life science community. In particular, he criticises evolution-biological stories and how they are related in sociobiologySociobiology
Sociobiology is a field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context. Often considered a branch of biology and sociology, it also draws from ethology, anthropology,...
and evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
. Dupré argues that such projects must remain speculative and reflect on the prejudices of the researchers as circumstances in the world.
Dupré is also concerned with the handling of biological taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
. Biological classifications are made by human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s, and are thus open to criticism and modification. This applies in particular to the classifications of humans - for instance after race or sex
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
. Dupré's arguments in this area reflect and mirror the sentiments and criticism of evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....
.
Works
Books- Darwin's Legacy German translation Darwins Vermachtnis, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt/M. 2005, ISBN 978-3518295045.
- Darwin's Legacy Spanish translation El legado de Darwin. Qué significa hoy la evolución, Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores S.A, 2006, ISBN 978-8496859104
- The Disorder of Things. Metaphysical foundations of the disunity of science, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1993, ISBN 0-674-21260-6
- Human Nature and the Limits of Science, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-924806-0
- Humans and Other Animals, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2002, ISBN 0-19-924709-9
- The Constituents of Life (the Spinoza lectures), Amsterdam: Van Gorcum, 2008, ISBN 978-90-232-4380-9
- Value-Free Science: Ideal or Illusion (with Harold Kincaid and Alison Wylie), New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0195308969
- Darwin's Legacy: What Evolution Means Today, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0192803375
- with S.B.Barne,Genomes and What to Make of Them, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008,ISBN 9780226172958
- with S.Parry, Nature After the Genome, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4443-3396-1