Putnam on taxonomic terms 29 Jan 202029 Jan 2020 Terms with respect to which we defer to experts include both technical terms in science and such terms as ‘elm’ or ‘beech’ (in the United States, at least, most people cannot tell an elm from a beech, but anyone who knows that ‘elm’ and ‘beech’ are the names of common sorts of deciduous trees counts as understanding them)…. Still, the great majority of the terms we employ are neither analytically defined nor such that we need to call on an expert to advise us in their application in everyday use. Hilary Putnam. “XV—Pragmatism.” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 95, no. 1 (June 1, 1995): 291–306, p298. Bear this in mind when debating whether dinosaurs and birds or humans are apes… Philosophy Species and systematics Systematics
Creationism and Intelligent Design New work on lateral transfer shows that Darwin was wrong 31 Mar 200918 Sep 2017 A new study into the transfer of genetic material laterally, or across taxonomic divisions, has shown that evolution does not proceed as Darwin thought, and that in fact the present theory of evolution is entirely false. Instead, it transpires that lateral genetic transfer makes new species much more like Empedocles‘… Read More
Evolution On the problem of the problem of evil and Darwin 15 Mar 2011 In yet another essay reprising his argument that theists can be good Darwinians (a position I concur with, incidentally), Michael Ruse makes the following comment, based on a book by Karl Giberson and Francis Collins, The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions: Where I do want… Read More
Creationism and Intelligent Design Travel Diary 11: Notre Dame 3 Nov 2009 This conference is turning out to be interesting, in a kind of weird way. I am very much the agnostic in the Catholic lion’s den, but so far the lions haven’t so much as looked my way hungrily. I did have an interesting discussion tonight with Simon Conway Morris, and… Read More