Department of Philosophy, Professor, Center for the Study of Origins, Director University of Colorado Boulder
Philosophy: Philosophy of Science, Logic, and Metaphysics
Carol Cleland’s research interests include: scientific methodology (historical science and the field sciences considered generally, and the role of anomalies in scientific discovery), scientific theories and the use of models (especially in the historical sciences), philosophy of biology (microbiology, astrobiology, nature and origin(s) of life, and the hypothesis of a ‘shadow biosphere’, a term which she coined).
She is currently working on two projects: (i) (with Robert Hazen) rethinking the current, time invariant, concept of mineral kind, enshrined in the modern IMA system, from a more historical perspective, in the context of what we are learning about the origin and evolution of minerals in planetary contexts, and (ii) the role of anomalies in scientific discovery, especially in the