The Power of Counterfactual Thinking

This weeks guest is Greg Radick, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds.

In the podcast Greg discusses the use of counterfactuals in history of science - the term we use for asking ‘What if?’ questions about history - and their potential to subvert our conventional thinking. 

In Greg’s research, a central counterfactual question is: “What might biology be like now if a different side had triumphed in early debates on genetics?”

From this seemingly simple ‘what if?’ question a fruitful range of new research options open up.

A transcript of the interview can be found here: https://www.hpsunimelb.org/post/episode-5-transcript

Some useful resources on Greg and his work:

Book: Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the Future of Biology (Published August 2023) 

Article on Teaching Genetics differently: Teach students the biology of their time | Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/533293a

Website: https://gregoryradick.com/

Thanks for listening to The HPS Podcast. You can find more about us on our website, Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook feeds. 

This podcast would not be possible without the support of School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne and the Hansen Little Public Humanities Grant scheme.

Music by ComaStudio.
Website HPS Podcast | hpsunimelb.org