Integrative Biophilosophy
Book Series: Philosophy of Animal Research
Editors: Dr. Martin Böhnert, Prof. Dr. Dr. Kristian Köchy, Prof. Dr. Matthias Wunsch
Description
Animal philosophy is one of the most vibrant fields in contemporary philosophy. So far, the focus has been on the question of animal minds, the problem of the human-animal differences, and the areas of animal ethics. The Philosophy of Animal Research (Philosophie der Tierforschung), which is scheduled for three volumes, takes a new look at this field and complements it by giving more attention to the entire context of scientific research on animals. This includes the philosophical background assumptions, the research procedures and sites (laboratory/field), the logics of action, thought styles (Denkstile), and language games of the researcher collectives, as well as the model organisms selected in each case.
Titled "Methods and Programs," the first volume focuses on the history and systematics of animal research, particularly ethology and comparative psychology. The analysis follows the idea of milieus and takes into account the many different interactions between the various elements of these research environments. The concept of methodological signatures serves as a key concept of the theoretical framework. Signatures consist of a set of parameters (contexts of research, philosophy-science interactions, theory frameworks, methods, apparatuses, reference animals, etc.) to identify and compare research approaches. For this purpose, the volume discusses the research approaches of Charles Darwin, Jean-Henri Fabre, C. Lloyd Morgan, Jacques Loeb, Jakob von Uexküll, Wolfgang Köhler, Konrad Lorenz, among others.
The second volume focuses on possible social and ethical consequences under the heading "Maxims and Consequences". Both the cultural interpretations of biological results and the ethical implications emerging from biological results are discussed. At the same time, the question is always whether and to what extent ethics and culture themselves have biological roots.
The third volume is dedicated to "Milieus and Actors" under the guiding idea of research environments. Starting from the animal-human relation of animal research, the different roles of researchers and researched animals are elaborated with the aim of reconfiguring the field of animal research.
Bibliographic information
- Böhnert, M., Köchy, K., & Wunsch, M. (2017). Philosophie der Tierforschung: Band 1: Methoden und Programme. Alber. See here
- Köchy, K., Wunsch, M., & Böhnert, M. (2017). Philosophie der Tierforschung: Band 2: Maximen und Konsequenzen. Alber. See here
- Wunsch, M., Böhnert, M., & Köchy, K. (2019). Philosophie der Tierforschung: Band 3: Milieus und Akteure. Alber. See here
Reviews
- Gräfe, S. (2019). Journal for General Philosophy of Science, December. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10838-019-09491-5.
- Reiß, Ch. (2019). History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 41 (4): 48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-019-0285-7.
- Höller, Th. (2019). Philosophischer Literaturanzeiger 72 (1): 53–57. https://doi.org/10.3196/219458451972193.
- Kinzel, T. Informationsmittel (IFB): digitales Rezensionsorgan für Bibliothek und Wissenschaft 17 (3).
- Kinzel, T. Informationsmittel (IFB): digitales Rezensionsorgan für Bibliothek und Wissenschaft 18 (3).
- Kinzel, T. Informationsmittel (IFB): digitales Rezensionsorgan für Bibliothek und Wissenschaft 18 (4).
- Köhring, E. (2018). Tierforschung 14: 164-165.