Methods and Morals in the Life Sciences: A Guide for Analyzing and Writing Texts

Contents......Page 6
Introduction to This Book......Page 10
PART I: METHODOLOGY AS PRACTICAL PHIILOSOPHY......Page 16
1. Introduction......Page 18
2.1 Introduction......Page 22
2.2 Concepts......Page 23
2.3 Statements......Page 28
2.4 Arguments......Page 34
3.2 Hypotheses......Page 44
3.3 Theories and Explanations......Page 50
4. Facts and Values......Page 54
PART II: PUTTING SCIENCE IN CONTEXT......Page 58
1. Introduction......Page 60
2. A Survey of Guidelines......Page 64
PART III: APPLICATIONS: TEXTS WITH COMMENTS......Page 80
1. Introduction......Page 82
2. Altruism and Egoism......Page 84
Text 1 Evolution: No Place for Altruism?......Page 85
Text 2 Cooperation in Animals and Man......Page 88
Text 3 A Philosopher Looks at Evolution and Altruism......Page 90
Text 4 No Moral Merit for Altruism?......Page 95
Text 5 How Not to Think about Evolution: Murder within the Family......Page 97
Text 6 Against Pervasive Self-interest......Page 99
Text 7 A Methodological Eye-Opener for Altruism......Page 101
Text 8 Ethics: Oddities of Self-interest......Page 102
Text 9 Ethics: A Vacuous Theory of Self-interest......Page 104
Text 10 A Philosophical Lesson for Ethicists......Page 105
Text 11 Ethics: Discarding a Spurious Puzzle of Self-Interest......Page 106
Text 12 A Lesson from History: More about Self-interest......Page 107
Text 13 Marriage, Self-interest, and Psychotherapy......Page 108
Text 14 Psychopathology: A Matter of Genes?......Page 110
Text 15 Toward a Full Explanation of Psychopathology by Genetics?......Page 112
Text 16 Biology for Deviant Forms of Human Behavior......Page 114
Text 17 The Genetics of Separation Anxiety......Page 115
Text 18 A Simplistic View of Genes and Human Behavior......Page 117
Text 19 Psychopathology and Biology: A Report for Those in Power......Page 119
Text 20 Concentration Camps and Psychopathology......Page 120
Text 21 Should Biology Engulf Psychiatry?......Page 122
Text 22 Mental Health and Food......Page 125
Text 23 Psychopathology and Neurotransmitters......Page 126
Text 24 How Not to Think about Evolution and Depression......Page 128
Text 25 Biological Abnormality and Psychopathology......Page 130
Text 26 The Puzzle of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder......Page 131
Text.27 Evolutionary Biology Distorted......Page 134
Text 28 Evolution and Psychopathology: A Methodological Riddle......Page 135
Text 29 Evolutionary Biology as a Profitable Source for Medicine......Page 137
Text 30 Osteoporosis, Menopause, and the Pharmaceutical Industry......Page 140
Text 31 Medical Journals and the Pharmaceutical Industry......Page 143
Text 32 Drugs and Placebos: Methodological Bias in Research......Page 146
Text 33 Placebos, Animals, and Man......Page 147
Text 34 Should We Do Away with Biological Psychiatry?......Page 148
Text 35 Life Events: Stress for Medicine from Psychology......Page 152
Text 36 A Conceptual Pitfall......Page 155
Text 37 The Fate of Pigs in Husbandry......Page 156
Text 38 Against Genetic Engineering......Page 160
Text 39 GMOs in the Field: A Misleading Call for Moderation......Page 163
Text 40 GMOs in the Field: A Staunch Defense......Page 166
Text 41 Genetics as Our Future Savior?......Page 170
Text 42 Make Room for Molecular Cell Biology......Page 171
Text 43 Stress in Plants......Page 172
Text 44 Population Bomb or Pernicious Politics?......Page 174
Text 45 Shortcomings of Biomedicine: The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome......Page 176
PART IV: A TALE OF NONSTEROID ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS......Page 180
1. Introduction......Page 182
2. Biased Promotion of Drugs: The Case of NSAIDs......Page 186
Response 1 Private Drug Research, Harry Cook......Page 194
Response 2 Diet Therapy as a Viable Alternative for NSAIDs, Dorine Bax......Page 197
Response 3 NSAIDS in the Netherlands: The View of a General Practitioner, Arjen Groen......Page 199
Appendix to Part IV: Improving Style......Page 202
Postlude......Page 212
Bibliography: A Note Concerning Sources......Page 214
C......Page 216
F......Page 217
M......Page 218
P......Page 219
S......Page 220
V......Page 221