We need other forms of logic and reasoning to develop hypotheses
Finally, and critically, I would suggest that hypotheses are often
derived through reasoning that is not hypothetico-deductive in nature
(Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein 1999). One reason why hypothesis use
may be low in ecology is because these other forms of reasoning needed
to create good hypotheses are undervalued and crowded out. Ecology
and Evolution is one of only a handful of journals that have a specific
“Hypothesis” article format. In my experience, an interesting and
novel hypothesis in ecology, socioecology, the ecology-evolution
interface, or conservation, can take multiple pages to fully reason
through, justify, and render precise, as different forms of data
(cross-disciplinary, observational, inductively derived, ILK,
experimental, etc.) are woven together. Darwin required several entire
books to work out his ideas. In contemporary ecology, the people who
write book-length research texts are mainly eminent scientists with
international reputations. These should not be the only people, or the
only phases in one’s career, dedicated to ecological reasoning. We all
need experience with other forms of logic and reasoning to construct
good hypotheses. Thus giving space to the reasoning required to develop
interesting and novel hypotheses can also promote the development of
these multiple forms of non-hypothetico-deductive argumentation,
reasoning, and logic suited to ecological subjects.
Data Accessibility Statement:
There is no data to make available.
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