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Looking beyond Popper: How philosophy can be relevant to ecology
  • +13
  • Tina Heger,
  • Alkistis Elliot-Graves,
  • Marie Kaiser,
  • Katie Morrow,
  • William Bausman,
  • Gregory Dietl,
  • Carsten Dormann,
  • David Gibson,
  • James Griesemer,
  • Yuval Itescu,
  • Kurt Jax,
  • Andrew Latimer,
  • Chunlong Liu,
  • Jostein Starrfelt,
  • Philip Stephens,
  • Jonathan Jeschke
Tina Heger
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in the Forschungsverbund Berlin eV

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Alkistis Elliot-Graves
Bielefeld University
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Marie Kaiser
Bielefeld University
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Katie Morrow
Bielefeld University
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William Bausman
University of Zurich
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Gregory Dietl
Paleontological Research Institution
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Carsten Dormann
University of Freiburg
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David Gibson
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
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James Griesemer
University of California Davis
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Yuval Itescu
University of Haifa
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Kurt Jax
UFZ Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle
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Andrew Latimer
University of California Davis
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Chunlong Liu
Ocean University of China
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Jostein Starrfelt
Statistics Norway
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Philip Stephens
Durham University
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Jonathan Jeschke
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in the Forschungsverbund Berlin eV
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Abstract

Current workflows in academic ecology rarely allow an engagement of ecologists with philosophers, or with contemporary philosophical work. We argue that this is a missed opportunity for enriching ecological reasoning and practice, because many questions in ecology overlap with philosophical questions and with current topics in contemporary philosophy of science. One obstacle to a closer connection and collaboration between the fields is the limited awareness of scientists, including ecologists, of current philosophical questions, developments and ideas. In this article, we aim to overcome this obstacle and trigger more collaborations between ecologists and philosophers. First, we provide an overview of philosophical research relevant to ecologists. Second, we use examples to demonstrate that many ecological questions have a philosophical dimension and point to related philosophical work. We elaborate on one example -- the debate around the appropriate level of complexity of ecological models -- to show in more detail how philosophy can enrich ecology. Finally, we provide suggestions for how to initiate collaborative projects involving both ecologists and philosophers.
15 Jul 2024Submitted to Oikos
15 Jul 2024Submission Checks Completed
15 Jul 2024Assigned to Editor
15 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
09 Aug 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
16 Aug 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
25 Sep 20241st Revision Received
25 Sep 2024Submission Checks Completed
25 Sep 2024Assigned to Editor
25 Sep 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
18 Oct 2024Editorial Decision: Accept