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Biology and Ideology: The Interpenetration of Science and Values

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Robert C. Richardson
Robert C. Richardson*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati
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Abstract

The mutual influence of science and values in biology is exhibited in several cases from the biological literature. It is argued in a number of cases, from R. A. Fisher's argument for the optimality of a 50:50 sex ratio to A. Jensen's defense of a genetic basis for intelligence, and including work on the evolution of sexual dimorphism and muted aggression, that the credence accorded the views is disproportionate with their theoretical and empirical warrant. It is, furthermore, suggested that the proper explanation for the attraction and persistence of such views lies in their conformity with ideological norms. There is thus an important, if circumscribed, role for ideological critique in the evaluation of scientific theories; in particular, it lies in the explanation of the acceptance and persistence of scientific views, given independent grounds for questioning their justifiability.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , September 1984 , pp. 396 - 420
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1984

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Footnotes

†

Completion of this work was made possible through the support of the National Science Foundation. I am thankful for the opportunity to discuss this project with colleagues at the Ohio State University during the spring of 1983. A particular debt is owed to John McEvoy for a number of helpful comments (some of which I have, perhaps imprudently, failed to heed), and to Robert Brandon, who forced some important clarifications in the work.

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