A second look at the colors of the dinosaurs

Turner, Derek

doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2015.08.012

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Although new programs certainly emerge, and sometimes achieve band-wagon status, there is a sense in which these production-boosting features of science are not diversity-boosting 10 . Moreover, scientists, as well as funding bodies, must make bets about which research directions will be fruitful (Turner 2016). This aspect partly explains the potential impact of the cancellation of SPICE's balloon-launch: it signals that the venture was simply too hard; a bad bet.…”

Section: The Second Tensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geoengineering tensions

Currie¹

2018

Futures

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There has been much discussion of the moral, legal and prudential implications of geoengineering, and of governance structures for both the research and deployment of such technologies. However, insufficient attention has been paid to how such measures might affect geoengineering in terms of the incentive structures which underwrite scientific progress. There is a tension between the features that make science productive, and the need to govern geoengineering research, which has thus far gone underappreciated. I emphasize how geoengineering research requires governance which reaches beyond science's traditional boundaries, and moreover requires knowledge which itself reaches beyond what we traditionally expect scientists to know about. How we govern emerging technologies should be sensitive to the incentive structures which drive science.

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Section: The Second Tensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geoengineering tensions

Currie¹

2018

Futures

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“…Further, Tucker says that common cause compared to separate causes would be overdetermined from the evidence whereas the degrading fossils will be under-determining the causes. Thus, there is both epistemic under-determination and overdetermination occurring in palaeosciences (Turner, 2016) and the truth lies in between (Tucker, 2011).…”

Section: Epistemic Under-and Over-determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zhang et al (2010) and Pan et al (2016) followed and succeeded in inferring the color of a small therapod dinosaur (Sinosauropteryx) and an Early Cretaceous bird (Eoconfuciusornis) in the Jehol biota site in northeastern China. This finding caused Turner to perform a philosophical error analysis of his pessimistic attitude about the past and declared that he has already lost the bet (Turner, 2016). He mentioned in that paper that pre-2008 background theories (on taphonomy) would have made impossible identification of the color of dinosaurs, but after Vinther et al (2008) the background theories had been improved or revised so making knowledge of the color of dinosaurs possible.…”

Section: Epistemic Bet On Dinosaur's Color -A Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophies for Palaeosciences – A Review

Morthekai¹

2018

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy

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The philosophy of historical sciences focusing on palaeontology, earth sciences, geology, ecology and evolutionary biology has been given much interest in the recent past. In this article, the focus is on the philosophies that are relevant to palaeosciences that only deal with the temporally disconnected past. Palaeosciences, an aggregate of sciences that deal with the past, are shown to be slightly different than the historical sciences. The questions that are attempted to be answered by reviewing the research literature are, 1) what are the appropriate metaphysical views and metaphysical guidelines for palaeosciences? 2) can a palaeoscientist follow multiple methodologies to understand the past and what are the philosophical foundations for that approach? and 3) are the palaeosciences, science? It is found that scientific realism seems to be the appropriate metaphysics for palaeosciences. Uniformity of process and simplicity (Ockham's razor) are shown to be necessary but not sufficient metaphysical guidelines for palaeosciences. Catastrophism and complexity may be invoked in explaining a palaeoscientific hypothesis on the availability of sufficient evidence. The disunity of sciences, epistemological pluralism, and methodological pluralism are shown to be beneficial philosophical views and strategies to do research in palaeosciences. The palaeosciences are science not on the basis of naïve falsifiability (Popper) but on sophisticated falsifiability (Lakatos) and family resemblance approach (Wittgenstein). Explained are the palaeoscientific methods such as 1) smoking gun with common cause explanation and 2) consilience when there is plenty of trace evidence recognized in the field (lucky circumstance) and, methodological omnivorous (Currie; unlucky circumstances). It is also shown that the misuse of palaeosciences can be minimized within Lakatosian methodological framework, and by the active participation of civil society in palaeoscientific research activities. A case study, on the color of the dinosaurs, is given to explain the salient features of palaeosciences as mentioned above.

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“…Underdetermination does not prevent falsification, as was clearly shown when fossil evidence falsified the explanation of the origin of bipedalism as involving feedback among brain expansion, tool use, and freeing the hands. Underdetermination also does not preclude the possibility of finding new evidence that strengthens or weakens alternative explanations …”

Section: The Contested Ground: Just‐so Story Triggersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Underdetermination also does not preclude the possibility of finding new evidence that strengthens or weakens alternative explanations. 105,106 Current Utility Versus Historical Role "Current utility" or "biological role" 107 refers to the functional role that a trait serves in an organism today. "Historical role" refers to the function the trait served that resulted in an increase in fitness and subsequent natural selection.…”

Section: Underdetermination Of Historical Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explanations for adaptations, just‐so stories, and limitations on evidence in evolutionary biology

Smith¹

2016

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Explanations of the historical origin of specific individual traits are a key part of the research program in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Why did bipedalism evolve in the human lineage? Why did some dinosaurs and related species have head crests? Why did viviparity evolve in some reptiles? Why did the common ancestor of primates evolve stereoscopic vision, grasping hands and feet, nails instead of claws, and large brains? These are difficult questions. To varying degrees, an explanation must grapple with (1) judgments about changes in fitness that might follow from a change in morphology - without actually observing behavior or measuring reproductive success, (2) the relationship between genes and traits, (3) limitations on doing relevant experiments, (4) the interpretation of causes that are almost certainly contingent, multifactorial, interactive, hierarchical, nonlinear, emergent, and probabilistic rather than deterministic, (5) limited information about variation and ontogeny, (6) a dataset based on the random fortunes of the historical record, including only partial hard-tissue morphology and no soft-tissue morphology, (7) an equally partial and problematic (for example, time-averaged) record of the environment, (8) the compression of all data into a geological time scale that is likely to miss biologically important events or fluctuations, (9) dependence on a process that can only be inferred ("form and even behavior may leave fossil traces, but forces like natural selection do not", ) and finally, (10) the assumption of the "adaptationist programme" that the trait in question is in fact an adaptation rather than a consequence of genetic drift, correlated evolution, pleiotropy, exaptation, or other mechanisms.

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A second look at the colors of the dinosaurs

Cited by 26 publications

References 43 publications

Geoengineering tensions

Geoengineering tensions

Philosophies for Palaeosciences – A Review

Explanations for adaptations, just‐so stories, and limitations on evidence in evolutionary biology

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