Awards

Angela Potochnik awarded the 2011 Marjorie Green prize

Angela Potochnik, who received her Ph.D in Philosophy from Stanford University in 2007, is this year's recipient of the 2011 Marjorie Grene prize for her paper on optimality modeling presented at the 2007 meetings of the International Society for History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology.

Her submission, "Explanatory Independence and Epistemic Interdependence: A Case Study of the Optimality Approach" is an important contribution to our understanding of modelling strategies in science.  In a well-argued and precise analysis, Potochnik explores the pursuit of optimality models in evolutionary and behavioural ecology, the criticisms that have been levelled against them, and the reasons for the persistence of such models. Arguing that optimality models have value as evolutionary explanations, Potochnik shows that such models have explanatory independence: they neglect certain aspects of the evolutionary process such as genetic transmission.  At the same time, however, the applicability of such optimality models must be evaluated by looking beyond the dynamics represented by them--thus they are epistemically dependent on other models.  

Potochnik draws broad conclusions about the tension between these two features, and her paper is an original contribution to philosophical discussions about the roles of modelling in science, the nature of scientific explanation, and the constraints and complexities of scientific practice.