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Evidence, Content and Corroboration and the Tree of Life

E. Kurt Lienau1, 2 Contact Information and Rob DeSalle2

(1)  Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
(2)  Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA

Received: 28 August 2008  Accepted: 18 September 2008  Published online: 18 November 2008

Abstract  We examine three critical aspects of Popper’s formulation of the ‘Logic of Scientific Discovery’—evidence, content and degree of corroboration—and place these concepts in the context of the Tree of Life (ToL) problem with particular reference to molecular systematics. Content, in the sense discussed by Popper, refers to the breadth and scope of existence that a hypothesis purports to explain. Content, in conjunction with the amount of available and relevant evidence, determines the testability, or potential degree of corroboration, of a statement; content distinguishes scientific hypotheses from metaphysical assertions. Degree of corroboration refers to the relative and tentative confidence assigned to one hypothesis over another, based upon the performance of each under critical tests. Here we suggest that systematists attempt to maximize content and evidence to increase the potential degree of corroboration in all phylogenetic endeavors. Discussion of this “total evidence” approach leads to several interesting conclusions about generating ToL hypotheses.

Keywords  Corroboration - Tree of life - ToL - Karl Popper - Genomics - Systematics - HGT - Evolution - Vantage points - Darwin - Philosophy of science


Contact Information E. Kurt Lienau
Email: ekl@amnh.org

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  1. Lienau, E.K. (2009) Is the microbial tree of life verificationist?. Cladistics
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