ABSTRACT
My topic is the relationship between science and values. Specifically, I will look at biological science, especially evolutionary theorizing, and at those values held dear (not to mention those values abhorred) by supporters of the feminist movement. Since discussions of this nature rapidly take on all of the fervour of a revivalist camp meeting, it is appropriate to begin with a text. I draw mine from Valley of the Amazons, the recent novel by Noretta Koertge. The conversation is between two women: Helen who is militantly anti-male, and Tretona, the heroine, who keeps one foot in the real world (of a kind), namely a philosophy of science department.
