Conservation Biology: A Confluence of Naturalist and Experimentalist Approaches to Biological Science

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This project begins exploratory research in the philosophical foundations of conservation biology. It involves careful review of the appropriate philosophical literature and of biological work on the relationship between stability and diversity for ecological preservation. Two related papers will result; one will discuss the special role of values in conservation biology, given its status as a science with a prescriptive goal, and one will examine and evaluate various definitions of "ecosystem health." The thesis that will be explored is that conservation biology will need to integrate insights from both its experimentalist and naturalist traditions, and from philosophical explorations of the role of values in science, in order to succeed in its goal of preserving and protecting nature. With the assistance of three advisors representing different biological perspectives, the investigator will examine the implications of applying a recent theoretical approach -- systems or heirarchy theory -- to conservation biology. Philosophical analysis of this approach may provide a frame of reference within which to satisfy both normative and objectivist concerns in science; it may allow insights from naturalists to be integrated with scientific data gathered by experimentalists. This project is undertaken by a well-qualified and productive researcher with appropriate contacts and support in the research communities he proposes to study. Institutional support is adequate. Results are likely to advance our understanding of the role of values in science in general, and in conservation biology in particular. Questions about the relationship between science and values, and between science, preservation of environment and environmental values are of considerable interest to Ethics and Values Studies in Science, Technology and Society. Given the project's merit, it has high priority for support.