Listing of Sessions and Abstracts of Papers - History of Science ...

Shavit,Ayelet
E-mail Address: ashavit@kfar-giladi.org.il
Evolutionary models resonate with social shifts
Evolutionary models and evolutionary terms - such as 'group' or 'individual' - often associate with
social values. Over 70 years, the evolution of altruism by group selection remains unresolved yet thriving.
I will suggest, that the resonance between empirical models and social values can explain to a
certain extent the open-ended practice of the group selection debate. The scope of this paper does not
enable a full historical argument but only points at some dominant shifts concerning group selection. In
the first half of the last century, group selection was directly used to support conflicting - pacifist or
nationalistic - social values. In the last three decades, different selection models presuppose relatively
similar worldviews though avoiding direct social implications. If the history of group selection still reechoes
with conflicting values, and if 'individual selection' associates exclusively with democracy, a
researcher may feel obliged to state his or her opinion on group selection. However, since the present
substructure of group selection resembles that of individual selection, then empirically distinguishing
groups from individuals can lose much of its appeal. The social resonance of evolutionary theory may
partly explain a converse situation: where many researchers participate in an empirical debate over
altruism by group selection, but only few experiments are found, and even the strongest experimental
attempts do not clearly differentiate groups from individuals.
Shen, Grace
E-mail Address: gyshen@fas.harvard.edu
Making History Natural: Writing 20th century vernacular into 17th century travels
After the fall of the Ming Dynasty to Qing rulership (in 1644), Chinese scholars, such as Gu Yanwu,
championed a new form of Classical study which employed critical philological methods to re-evaluate
the textual canon and to search for both the roots of defeat and the seeds of renewal. Many of the
founders of this school of textual criticism refused to serve the new Qing dynasty and concentrated on
philological scholarship. They also engaged in "practical studies" including natural historical and military-strategic
surveys. Interestingly, just as Ming loyalists revised their approach to linguistic studies and
explored their natural world as a means of cultural renewal, 20th century Chinese reformers called for
the replacement of Classical Chinese by the vernacular and advocated scientific research in order to
make China more "fit." Not surprisingly, then, stories of Ming loyalist resistance to 17th century
Manchu conquest played an important role in the patriotic imagination of 20th century Chinese intellectuals.
This paper engages modern Chinese ideas about the relationship between language and science by
analyzing how Ting Wen-chiang, the famous 20th century Chinese geologist, re-imagined the philological
and natural historical work of the 17th century scholars , Xu Xiake and Song Yingxiang in light of
perceived analogies between his own time period and theirs. In particular, I consider the ways in which
Ting's use of the modern Chinese vernacular subtlely changes the qualities of Xu and Song's writings.
Shermer, Michael
E-mail Address: skepticmag@aol.com
Stephen Jay Gould as Historian of Science: A Quantitative Content Analysis of His Works
Science historian Ronald Numbers once remarked that the two most influential historians of science
of the 20th century were Thomas Kuhn and Stephen Jay Gould. All science historians are deeply familiar
with Kuhn's work and influence, and all know of the remarkable impact Gould has had on evolutionary
theory. But little attention has been paid to the depth, scope, and importance of Gould's role as
historian of science. Shermer will present the results of an extensive quantitative content analysis of