Scientific Disagreement, Taxonomy, and Biodiversity
(2025) Center for Advanced Studies, Ilia State University — Location: Tbilisi, Georgia (23.April.2025)
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- Authors
- Abstract
- In this talk, I’ll attempt to do two things. First, I will discuss the uncertainty surrounding concepts in biodiversity and taxonomy, along with approaches developed in the philosophy of biology to resolve or eliminate it. It has long been recognized that disagreement is rampant in taxonomy, and that this disagreement over species inventories has a direct (and a potentially damaging) effect on our understanding of biodiversity, with concomitant worries about practice in conservation biology. Second, I will present preliminary work in progress from my group using empirical analyses of the literature in taxonomy with the goal of better understanding the factors that shape and modulate taxonomic disagreement – and thus, we hope, better understanding where this disagreement might negatively affect conservation efforts.
- Affiliations
Citations
Pence, C. (2025). Scientific Disagreement, Taxonomy, and Biodiversity. Center for Advanced Studies, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/269486