Susan Oyama (born May 22, 1943) is a psychologist and

philosopher of science A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, currently professor emerita at the

John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...

and

CUNY Graduate Center The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the C ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Oyama's work interrogates the nature versus nurture debates, and problematizes the conceptual foundations (e.g., assumptions, binaries, and classifications) on which these debates depend. Her notion of a "developmental system" allows us to reevaluate and reintegrate standard dichotomies such as development and evolution, body and mind, and stasis and change. Oyama's

Developmental systems theory Developmental systems theory (DST) is an overarching theoretical perspective on biological development, heredity, and evolution. It emphasizes the shared contributions of genes, environment, and epigenetic factors on developmental processes. DST ...

has had a significant impact in cognitive science,

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, and the

philosophy of biology The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have long ...

Publications

*''The Ontogeny of Information'' (2000) *''Cycles of Contingency'' (2001) *''Evolution's Eye: A Systems View of the Biology-Culture Divide'' (2000) *'' The Ontogeny of Information: Developmental Systems and Evolution'' is regarded as a foundational text in

developmental systems theory Developmental systems theory (DST) is an overarching theoretical perspective on biological development, heredity, and evolution. It emphasizes the shared contributions of genes, environment, and epigenetic factors on developmental processes. DST ...

References

21st-century American psychologists American women psychologists American women philosophers Philosophers of science Philosophers of biology Living people Graduate Center, CUNY faculty John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty 21st-century American philosophers 20th-century American philosophers American women biologists 1943 births 20th-century American women 21st-century American women 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub

Publications

See also

References