9321485 Brandon Dr. Brandon is examining the nature of experimentation in population biology (ecology and evolution), and the relation between theory and experiment in this field. After years of neglect, philosophers (as well as historians and sociologists) of science are beginning to take experimentation seriously. Much of this attention focuses on physics and assumes that experiment is subservient to theory. Biology, rather than physics, is the focus of this project, which also questions the assumption that theory generally dominates experimentation. Dr. Brandon's preliminary work has already shown that population biology is importantly distinct from physics with respect to experimentation (biologists are much more concerned with what might be called the "realism" of their experimental conditions). In this study, he hopes to show, by means of case studies, that there are various reasons why theory and experiment fail to make contact and explore the ramifications of this. Dr. Brandon brings his skills in philosophical analysis (e.g. in answering the question of what an experiment is and how experiments contribute to scientific knowledge) and an intimate acquaintance with largely contemporary experimental practice in population biology. ***
