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Evolving Thoughts

One man's struggle against impermanence

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Grumpy John Wilkins is an aged, eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and a position as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Queensland, in Australia. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts, which he is working into two books. One has been accepted for publication, and will come out in 2008; the other may be contracted soon. He is also interested in cultural evolution, philosophy of religion, Macintosh computers and his kids (they sort of make it a necessity, you know?).

If anyone knows of a tenurable, or even medium term, job in philosophy of biology, let me know. Have library, will travel. The contract runs out soon...

This blog is designed to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...

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July 31, 2006

Book "meme"

Category: Philosophy of Science

I just want to start out saying 1. Everybody has been tagged with this one, and 2. These aren't really "memes", although these days I think that term is otiose. A meme spreads itself. Anyway, now I'm back from such...

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July 26, 2006

Wilkins en route

Category: Philosophy of Science

In which our hero discovers the joys of walking... Next on my trip, I visited David Williams, a paleobiologist at the Museum of Natural History in London. We talked at length about the nature of systematics (which is something...

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July 17, 2006

What actually IS "design"?

Category: Logic and philosophy

Designs are abstractions based on how we model things.

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Update on my trip

Category: Administrative

So, some of you are wondering what's happened. Well, maybe one of you is. Hi mum. I went to the Philosophy of Microbiology conference at Exeter - somebody forgot to tell the English that it's supposed to be cold here....

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July 10, 2006

In Forn Parts

Category: Administrative

I am spatiotemporally challenged (it goes with my inability to remember names, even those of my kids. Birthdays are often a disappointment for them). However, I am fairly sure I will be overseas for the next three weeks. Overseas being...

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July 8, 2006

What scientific explanation is

Category: Philosophy of Science

Rob Skipper has an excellent post at his blog entitled What Scientific Explanation Isn't. It's a good explanation of the DN (deductive nomological) model of explanation offered by Carl Hempel, which has come across some serious criticism of late. By...

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Are raccoons blonde Republicans?

Category: Creationism

Media Matters has a wonderful bow by blow debuning of Ann Coulter's "Flatulent Raccoon Theory", better known as Godless: The Church of Liberalism. While I don't read the rabid blonde's droolings, it looks pretty good to me (apart from dating...

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July 7, 2006

What do you want me to say?

Category: Philosophy of Science

I had a thought as I was recovering from my lack of sleep. What would you like me to cover? I have some forthcoming topics, but I thought you might like to suggest some philosophical issue with biology that interest...

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My first mention in Nature

Category: Humor

Ha! While I was away, being humiliated and disparaged (and that was only my family), I get a mention in Nature. Well on their website, anyway, as one (#30) of the top fifty science blogs. Science education and reporting is...

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Ask a Scienceblogger: Cloning

Category: Philosophy of Science

The question offered up to stump those ivory tower eggheads this week, is: On July 5, 1996, Dolly the sheep became the first successfully cloned mammal. Ten years on, has cloning developed the way you expected it to?... Pretty much....

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July 5, 2006

Still alive...

Category: Administrative

Well, despite major PowerPoint problems (I am so going to put Keynote on this Mac!) I survived my talk. It was, indeed, a very long suicide note, as I feared, but I gather the execution of said note is deferred...

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