rootx001@umn.edu

854 Heller
612-625-9304

My principal interests are epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of social sciences. When teaching or writing in these areas, I look for practical implications. When I discuss the role of testimony in the spread or growth of science, I look at how testimony is important to science. When I discuss the systems of classification used in the social sciences, I look at how the categories affect public policy. When I discuss the distinction between real and nominal kinds, I consider the bearing the distinction has on the reality of race. My teaching motivates my research, and most of my publications have been drawn from work in my classes with students.

Selected Publications

"Race in the Social Sciences," in The Philosophy of Anthropology and Sociology, eds. Mark Risjord and Stephen Turner, Elsevier Science, forthcoming.

"Community Based Research," in The Handbook of Social Science Methodology, eds. Wiliam Outhwaite and Stephen Turner, Sage, forthcoming.

"The Number of Black Widows in the Natural Academy of Sciences," Philosophy of Science, (Proceedings), forthcoming.

"Social Problems," in Value Free Science: Ideal or Illusion, ed. Harold Kincaid, Oxford University Press, forthcoming.

"The Use of Race in Medicine as a Proxy for Genetic Differences," Philosophy of Science, 70 (Proceedings) December 2003, pp 1173-83.

"Hume on the Virtues of Testimony," American Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 1, January 2001, pp. 19-35.

Philosophy of Social Science: The Methods, Ideals and Politics of Social Inquiry, Blackwell, 1993 (269 pages + preface & analytical table of contents).