Campbell was one of the truly important thinkers in evolutionary philosophy
and social science methodology, and one of the most cited authors in the
social sciences. He was a past president of the American Psychological
Association, a distinction comparable to a Nobel prize in psychology. As a
recent newsgroup message called him: "A very great experimental
psychologist and methodologist (perhaps the greatest)" (Claire Gilbert
<blazing@crl.com>).
We had made him a honorary "Associate" of the Principia Cybernetica Project
(see http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MASTHEAD.html), since he had always supported
our plans to collaboratively develop an evolutionary-cybernetic philosophy.
I recently had the chance to collaborate with him on a paper entitled
"Selection at the Social Level" (published in "World Futures", see
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/WFISSUE.html), and we had plans to write further
joint papers on the evolution of social systems. Alas, that cannot happen
anymore.
I was personally in his debt, as he had helped me at a difficult moment in
my career, when I was at the cross-roads between losing my temporary
research contract and getting a permanent appointment. He wrote some
glowing recommendations (in which I was virtually described as his
intellectual heir), which undoubtedly helped me in securing my position.
The announcement included below emphasizes Campbell's contribution to
experimental methodology. So let me remind you of his more philosophical
contributions. He was the founder of the domain of "evolutionary
epistemology" (a label he created), in which he generalized Popper's
falsificationist philosophy of science to knowledge processes at all
biological, psychological and social levels.
Within that domain his main contributions are the concepts of: 1)
"Blind-Variation-and-Selective-Retention (BVSR)", where he emphasizes the
fact that knowledge initially can only be developed by trial-and-error, and
2) "vicarious selectors", which allowed him to explain how initially blind
trials could develop into intelligent search guided by knowledge developed
earlier. He generalized the hierarchical organization of vicarious
selectors in his analysis of the phenomenon of "downward causation"
(another term popularized by him), where a higher level system or whole
constrains its parts.
He applied this same evolutionary philosophy to the development of social
systems, arguing that cultural evolution is necessary to explain the
development of human society. The necessary tension between cultural and
biological evolution allowed him to explain the organization of archaic
societies and the emergence of religious systems. He used these insights to
plead for the development of an evolutionary ethics, which could guide our
actions without recurring to arbitrary metaphysical principles. He also
applied these ideas to some problems in present-day society, arguing for
alternative types of social organization, without falling into the trap of
designing utopias which only work on paper.
The depth and thoroughness of his thinking, his attention to detail, and
the width of the interdisciplinary terrain he covered (from psychology to
anthropology, sociology, education, biology, philosophy and systems
theory), should be an example to us all. Although he is no longer here to
teach us in person, he leaves behind a wealth of writings which will
inspire researchers for the decades to come.
Francis Heylighen
------------------------------
> From: Burt Perrin <100276.3165@COMPUSERVE.COM>
>
> I have just learned that Donald T. Campbell has died
> apparently from complications following surgery.
>
> Don Campbell was one of the giants-arguably *the* giant-in evaluation as
> well as in social psychology, philosophy of science, and in many other fields.
> He was one of the few true rennaissance men of our day, although I am sure he
> would reject the label. He spoke with people across many different disciplines
> and many different theoretical orientations, acknowledging the contributions
> of all.
>
> He set the intellectual direction for evaluation. For example, he reminded us
> that that our goal, as researchers and evaluators, is to aim to eliminate
>rival
> competing hypotheses through the simplest means possible. Campbell may be best
> known within evaluation circle for coining the concept of quasi-experimental
> designs and for advocating use of experimental methods for evaluation. Perhaps
> less well known is that Campbell did not hold these methods to be a priori
> superior to any other. Long before it became fashionable to do so, he also
> strongly defended the use of qualitative methods-and indeed of the application
> of common sense. The method must follow the question. Campbell, many decades
> ago, promoted the concept of triangulation - that every method has its
> limitations, and multiple methods are usually needed.
>
> I had the privilege of studying with Campbell in the 60s at Northwestern
> University - before anyone spoke of evaluation. He was my major intellectual
> inspiration. I remember how he frequently welcomed me-a lowly undergraduate-
> into his office - and invariably could insert a hand into a file cabinet or a
> pile of papers on or near his desk - and pull out something he had written
> about almost any conceivable topic.
>
> I will stop now. Program evaluation, psychology, philosophy, and humankind has
> suffered a major loss.
>
> Burt Perrin
> Toronto, Canada
> 100276.3165@compuserve.com
________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Francis Heylighen, Systems Researcher fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be
PESP, Free University of Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32-2-6292525; Fax +32-2-6292489; http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html