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Ecological Kinds and Ecological Laws

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Gregory M. Mikkelson
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Abstract

Ecologists typically invoke “law-like” generalizations, ranging over “structural” and/or “functional” kinds, in order to explain generalizations about “historical” kinds (such as biological taxa)—rather than vice versa. This practice is justified, since structural and functional kinds tend to correlate better with important ecological phenomena than do historical kinds. I support these contentions with three recent case studies. In one sense, therefore, ecology is, and should be, more nomothetic, or law-oriented, than idiographic, or historically oriented. This conclusion challenges several recent philosophical claims about the nature of ecological science.

Type
Laws and Causation
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 70 , Issue 5: Proceedings of the 2002 Biennial Meeting of The Philosophy of Science Association. Part I: Contributed Papers , December 2003 , pp. 1390 - 1400
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

For feedback on the ideas expressed herein, I thank Mark Colyvan, Paul Harcombe, John Huss, Jeff Mikkelson, and audiences at the 2001 meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology; at Trent University; and at the 2002 meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. Thanks to Kelly Bailly for tracking down the laws cited by Darwin (1859).

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