Following in the fashion of Stephen Jay Gould and Peter Medawar, one of the world's leading scientists examines how "pure science" is in fact shaped and guided by social and political needs and assumptions.

Biophilia is Edward O. Wilson's most personal book, an evocation of his own response to nature and an eloquent statement of the conservation ethic. Wilson argues that our natural affinity for life―biophilia―is the very essence of our humanity and binds us to all other living species.

The concept of a "breed" of domestic cattle is predominantly a social construct. The late eighteenth century development of intensive selective breeding of livestock produced breeds that were visually distinguishable from each other. The adoption of breed standards was facilitated in part through paintings and drawings of idealized animals. These "ideal types" or "standards of perfection" further served as targets for breeders who attempted to achieve the artist's conception of the perfect animal. However, concepts of perfection change with fashion and (...) thus ideal types constitute moving targets. (shrink)

In order to understand the animal rights movement as it exists today in American society, it is necessary to explore the ways in which the beliefs of those who support the movement differ from the beliefs of their adversaries. Societal views generally determine the perceived differences and similarities between people and animals, and the issues surrounding these differences are fundamental to the animal rights controversy.

The scientific field studies of monkeys and apes are constrained by complex story-telling practices structured by major organizing axes for western symbolic and social systems. Arguing that feminist contests for authoritative accounts of evolution and behavioral biology work by phase shifts and field disruptions in narrative patterns, and not by paradigm replacement or other processes commonly examined in the philosophy and history of science, this paper examines the practice of women primatologists in the U.S. in the late 20th century in (...) relation to the crucial dialectical, antagonistic constructions: nature/culture and sex/gender. (shrink)