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Sociobiology and the Semantic View of Theories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2023

Barbara L. Horan
Barbara L. Horan*
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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The semantic view of scientific theories has been defended as more adequate than the “received” view, especially with respect to biological theories (Beatty 1980, 1981; Thompson 1983). However, the semantic view has not been evaluated on its own terms. In this paper I first show how the theory of sociobiology propounded by E.O. Wilson (1975) can be understood on the semantic approach. I then discuss the criticism that Wilson’s theory is beset by the problem of unreliable generalizations. I suggest that this problem results from the use of the model-building strategy in theory. I conclude that the problem is pressing enough to impugn the semantic view as an adequate account of sociobiological theory.

According to proponents of the semantic view of theories, scientific theories function to specify a class of “models,” interpretations, or representations of their postulates.

Type
Part V. Social Science
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1986 , Issue 1: Volume One: Contributed Papers 1986 , 1986 , pp. 322 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1986

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