History and Philosophy of Science

Peter Gildenhuys

My dissertation is an inferentialist account of classical population genetics. I present the theory as a definite body of interconnected inferential rules for generating mathematical models of population dynamics. To state those rules, I use the notion of causation as a primitive. First, I put forward a rule stating the circumstances of application of the theory, one that uses causal language to pick out the types of entities over which the theory may be deployed. Next, I offer a rule for grouping such entities into populations based on their competitive causal relationships. Then I offer a general algorithm for generating a classical population genetics model suitable for the population on the basis of information about what causal influences operate within it.

My dissertation research has several ramifications for the generality of the theory of natural selection, its causal interpretability, the roles of the notions of selection, fitness, and drift, the phenomenon of multi-level selection, and the nature of laws and models in science. I am interested in causation, especially the problem of ceteris paribus laws. I'm also interested in the history of interaction between evolutionary theorists and their philosophical contemporaries writing about scientific method.

Education

Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2000-2001
Andrew Mellon Pre-doctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh (September 2002-August 2003)
Arts and Sciences Graduate Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh (September 2006-August 2007)

Publications

"Putting the Struggle for Existence to Work" upcoming at Darwin's Reach: Celebrating Darwin's Legacy Across the Disciplines, Hofstra University, New York City, March 12-14, 2009.

"`Population' in Population Genetics" upcoming at the Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association in Pittsburgh, November 6-8, 2008.

"Adaptationist Reasoning and Applied Population Genetics", Adaptation in Psychology and in Biology in Paris, France, June 4-5, 2008.

"Inheritance in Griffiths and Gray's Developmental Systems Theory" Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology in Exeter, UK, July 25-29, 2007.

Professional service

I have been a TA for numerous courses, and taught Morality and Medicine and Problem Solving independently. In 2001-2002, I taught several philosophy courses at the College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn Illinois including Introduction to Philosophy, Political Philosophy, and Introduction to Humanities: Ideas and Values.