2000 HSS/PSA Program 1 - History of Science Society

PSA Abstracts
sorts of phenotypic manipulations used to test adaptive hypotheses in other
species. However, I argue that in practice evolutionary psychology has failed to
use phylogenetic information in a meaningful way, and further the structure of
the Hominidae family makes such a research program nearly impossible. While
phylogenetic information can be useful for testing adaptive hypotheses in humans,
these generally involve traits that are (a) not widely shared in the species and (b)
of a much lower order of complexity than the sorts of traits evolutionary
psychology has been interested in. With respect to complex psychological traits,
the human species lacks sufficient genetic variation, and the closest extant
relatives to the human species are too phenotypically different from humans,
for such methods to provide meaningful tests.
Ruth␣ E. Kastner University of Maryland
A critical look at time-symmetric quantum counterfactuals
I identify a loophole in the case against the counterfactual usage of the Aharanov-
Bergmann-Lebowitz rule of time-symmetrised quantum theory. I then close the
loophole by showing that in order to exploit it, one must violate basic principles
of cotenability in standard theories of counterfactuals. The conclusion is that
there is no way to formulate a valid counterfactual application of the ABL rule.
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Stephen␣ H. Kellert Hamline University
Extrascientific uses of physics: the case of nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory
This essay explores the metaphorical use of the area of nonlinear dynamics
popularly known as chaos theory, surveying its use in one particular field: legal
theory. After sketching some of the mistakes encountered in these efforts, I outline
the possibility of the fruitful use of nonlinear dynamics for thinking about our
legal system. I then offer some general lessons to be drawn from these examples,
both cautionary maxims and a limited defense of cross-disciplinary borrowing.
I conclude with some reflections on the nature of arguments that seek to establish
intellectual authority or epistemic merit by analogical reasoning.
Kevin␣ T. Kelly Carnegie Mellon University
Revolution, Revision, Regress, and Reliability
Scientific method may be viewed either as an argument justifying a conclusion
or as a procedure for finding the right answer to some question. Both
conceptions occasion the problem of empirical regresses. According to the
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