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Applied Ecology and the Logic of Case Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Kristin Shrader-Frechette  and
Earl D. McCoy
Kristin Shrader-Frechette*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy University of South Florida at Tampa
Earl D. McCoy*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology University of South Florida at Tampa
*
‡Send reprint requests to Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Department of Philosophy, University of South Florida at Tampa, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, CPR 107, Tampa, FL 33620-5550, USA.
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Abstract

Because of the problems associated with ecological concepts, generalizations, and proposed general theories, applied ecology may require a new “logic” of explanation characterized neither by the traditional accounts of confirmation nor by the logic of discovery. Building on the works of Grünbaum, Kuhn, and Wittgenstein, we use detailed descriptions from research on conserving the Northern Spotted Owl, a case typical of problem solving in applied ecology, to (1) characterize the method of case studies; (2) survey its strengths; (3) summarize and respond to its shortcomings; and (4) investigate and defend its underlying “logic”.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 61 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 228 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

We are grateful to Greg Cooper, Reed Noss, Michael Ruse, and Dan Simberloff for criticisms of earlier drafts and to the National Science Foundation for grants BBS-86-159533 and DIR-91-12445, which supported work on this essay. Remaining errors are our responsibility.

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