A series of posts on Categories in systematics 7 May 20257 May 2025 They are on Substack of course, and I forgot to link to them here, so: https://johnwilkins.substack.com/p/category-mistakes-with-explanation https://johnwilkins.substack.com/p/category-mistakes-in-scientific-metaphysics https://johnwilkins.substack.com/p/explanation-and-inference-in-science https://johnwilkins.substack.com/p/concepts-methods-and-categories Biology Ecology and Biodiversity Evolution Genetics Metaphysics Science Species and systematics
Epistemology Human reasoning 27 Oct 2010 Human reasoning is not simple, neat, and impeccable. It is not akin to a proof in logic. Instead, it draws no clear distinction between deduction, induction, and abduction, because it tends to exploit what we know. Reasoning is more a simulation of the world fleshed out with all our relevant… Read More
Biology Henry Gee’s book “The Accidental Species” 9 Oct 20139 Oct 2013 I have three rules in life. One is, Never get into a land war in Asia. The second is, Locate the nearest exit. The third and most important is: When Henry Gee writes something, believe it. I first encountered Henry through his book In Search of Deep Time, which covered… Read More
Metaphysics Why am I not speaking at 2012 Global Atheism? 28 Oct 201128 Oct 2011 Next year, in Melbourne, where I live and 2 hours from where I have been living over the past several years, the Global Atheism Convention will be held. I am an Australian practical atheist (and philosophical Agnostic, which will become significant in a minute), who has published in The Australian… Read More