Why should philosophers study marine science?
Because philosophy of science began as philosophy of physics, the authors recommend a Krogh principle: pick extreme, constrained sciences — here marine science — as study systems for general topics.
Source
Marine constraints as philosophical opportunities: the Krogh principle and the benefits of philosophical engagement with the sea
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — Metaphilosophy proposing marine science as a Krogh-style study system for philosophy of science
- N
- Methodological/philosophical argument; not an empirical sample
- Population
- Philosophy of science practice and marine sciences as constrained case systems
- Outcome
- Extreme constrained sciences (marine) as informative systems for general philosophy of science topics
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
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Why should philosophers study marine science?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
Opening joke?
In the beginning, there was physics. At least, in the beginning of philosophy of science, there was philosophy of physics. This was true to the extent that
Mayr?
key figure in the development of modern philosophy of biology, argued that several volumes he owned claiming to be ‘philosophy of science’ should rather ha
What they did
They rehearse Mayr’s complaint that ‘philosophy of science’ volumes were philosophy of physics, note that physics-only generalisations fail for biology, then argue marine sciences face strong environmental constraints that make them informative beyond their original context, by analogy with model organisms.
What they found
Extreme cases relative to quotidian science are philosophically useful. Case studies can travel via similarity. There are direct connections between philosophical and biological versions of the Krogh idea, including for the creation of knowledge.
The limits
What it doesn't show
This is a methodological manifesto, not a new oceanographic dataset. It does not prove every marine paper is a better case than every lab paper.
Key terms
- Krogh principle
- For many problems there is an animal (here: a science) on which it can be most conveniently studied — used to pick philosophical study systems.
- Physics-first PoS
- Early philosophy of science as philosophy of physics, which Mayr said should have been titled that way.
- Marine constraints
- Strong environmental limits that make marine sciences an ‘extreme’ and thus useful case.
- Travelling case study
- A case informative beyond its origin because of similarities with other cases (as with model organisms).
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Early PoS was mostly?
Common questions
What was ‘philosophy of science’ at first?
Largely philosophy of physics, as Mayr complained.
What is their Krogh move?
Use it to guide choice of study systems in philosophy of science.
Why marine?
Strong environmental constraints make it a particularly useful system for key topics.
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