Contact Derek Turner

Education: B.A., American University;
M.A., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University

• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Biology
• Environmental Philosophy
• Bioethics

Derek Turner regularly teaches Introduction to Philosophy, Logic, Bioethics, Thinking Philosophically About the Environment, Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Science, and Darwin, some of which are Web-based.  He also enjoys teaching courses on the history of philosophy.

In the spring of 2007, he began to teach a new course on Biological Theories of the Mind.  This course explores three aspects of mental life — dreams, emotions, and thoughts — all from a broadly biological point of view. 

At Convocation 2007, Turner was awarded the John S. King Award, established to recognize teacher-scholars with high standards of teaching excellence and concern for students. He delivered an address "Can Excellence Be Taught?" at the 2008 Honors & Awards assembly.

Derek has worked with students on individual study projects and/or senior honors theses on disability rights, assisted reproductive technology, wilderness ethics, genetically modified foods, the ethical treatment of animals, obligations to future generations, and stem cell research.  He also advises students who are enrolled in the Certificate Program of the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies.

Research:

Derek Turner’s research focuses on philosophical issues in historical science, especially paleontology, geology, and evolutionary biology.  His book, Making Prehistory: Historical Science and the Scientific Realism Debate (Cambridge University Press, 2007), argues that the scientific realism debate has been skewed by the failure to take historical science seriously.  (Publisher’s web site: http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=052187520X). 

Recently he has become interested in questions about the metaphysics of evolutionary trends.  What exactly does it mean to say that a trend (such as evolutionary size increase) is real?  Can a trend be a cause or effect of historical events and processes?

In the area of environmental philosophy, Derek is interested in whether the precautionary principle (which says, roughly, that it’s better to be safe than sorry) is a viable alternative to risk-cost-benefit analysis.  This year he is working on a paper on irreversible damage.  How, if at all, can cost-benefit analysis take account of the notion of irreversible damage?  Is there a single conception of irreversible damage that can work both in environmental policy and in bioethics (where death is often defined as a special kind of irreversible damage)?

Selected Publications:

“Just Another Drug?  A Philosophical Assessment of Randomized, Controlled Studies of Intercessory Prayer,” Journal of Medical Ethics (2006) 32: 487-490.

“Monkeywrenching, Perverse Incentives, and Ecodefence,” Environmental Values15(2006): 213-232.

“Local Underdetermination in Historical Science,” Philosophy of Science 72(2005): 209-230.

“Are We at War With Nature?” Environmental Values 14(2005): 21-36.

“The Functions of Fossils:  Inference and Explanation in Functional Morphology,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science C: Biology and Biomedical Sciences 31(March 2000): 193-212

Visit the philosophy department site.