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Education
Attended Oxford University and received his Bachelors of Philosophy, completed 2 years in the U.S. as a Harkness Fellow, receiving his PhD in Philosophy. -
Natural Kinds and Biological Taxa
Dupre publishes his first peer reviewed article covering the theory of Natural Kinds put forward by Putnam and Kripke. He argues that the theory of natural kinds cannot be applied to the various systems of natural taxonomy. He applies the theory to several systems and shows that they get worse as he moves from the most favorable system to the theory to a more “defensible” system. (Dupre, 1981) -
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Educating Others
He holds a professorship at Stanford University. -
What the Theory of Evolution Can't Tell Us
Dupre provides his ideas that the Darwinian theory of evolution, though revolutionary at the time, are often over exaggerated in their overall abilities. They provide insight into the evolution of larger creatures, but not the smaller and earlier beginnings of evolution. -
Scientific Classification
Dupre makes his statements on the methods of classification used in science. His concepts are that different types of classification are good for various purposes. He states that biology, however, does not necessarily hold completely to classify the process of Darwinian evolution. He states that it may fit larger multi cell organisms like birds and mammals, but not single cell organisms or plants. (Continued in assignment) -
Metaphysics of Evolution
Dupre publishes a paper that argues that process metaphysics is better at describing life than standard metaphysics. He argues that evolution is explained better by process metaphysics. Process metaphysics explains the world in terms of things being part of a temporary, but stable process, like a step along a path. It is argued that this applies to evolution to explain the being of organisms and species.