Freshman class

Science in perspective

Daniel McKaughan, assistant professor of philosophy

PhD, University of Notre Dame

Representative publication: "The Influence of Niels Bohr on Max Delbrück: Revisiting the Hopes Inspired by 'Light and Life,'" Isis, 96 (4), December 2005

Philosophers of science ask questions that scientists themselves do not typically address about the aims, assumptions, methods, history, and achievements of science and its place and influence in society. My research focuses on the history of molecular biology, the epistemology of science, and philosophical outlooks associated with science (such as pragmatism, empiricism, naturalism, and scientific realism). I am also interested in the moral and religious implications of science, including questions about the nature and rationality of religious faith and its relationship to belief, hope, and trust. I ask whether science provides anything like a single "worldview," and how individuals or communities combine enthusiasm for science with deep and sincere religious devotion.