Theory and Fact

Evolution as Fact and Theory

Fact and Myth in Social Class Theory

Fact, Phenomenon, and Theory in the Darwinian Research Tradition

Bruce H. Weber Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry California State University Fullerton Fullerton, CA, USA [email protected] & Robert H. Woodworth Chair in Science and Natural Philosophy Bennington College Bennington, VT, USA Abstract From its inception Darwinian evolutionary biology has been seen as having a problematic relationship of fact and theory. While the forging of the modern...

The Gaia Hypothesis: Fact, Theory, and Wishful Thinking

Organisms can greatly affect their environments, and the feedback coupling between organisms and their environments can shape the evolution of both. Beyond these generally accepted facts, the Gaia hypothesis advances three central propositions: (1) that biologically mediated feedbacks contribute to environmental homeostasis, (2) that they make the environment more suitable for life, and (3) tha...

Theory and Fact in the Law of Accidents

During the nineteenth century, the common law fashioned rules conditioning compensation for accidents on both causal agency and the fault of a party. This scheme of accident compensation has been under attack for nearly a century. Some of the battles have been fought within the common law itself; product liability emerged with Cardozo's opinion in MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. 1 That decision h...