David Hull

David Lee Hull (June 15, 1935 – August 11, 2010) was an American philosopher most notable for founding the field of philosophy of biology. Hull is recognized within evolutionary culture studies as contributing heavily in early discussions of the conceptualization of memetics. In addition to his academic prominence, he was well known as a gay man who fought for the rights of other gay and lesbian philosophers. Hull was partnered with Richard "Dick" Wellman, a Chicago school teacher, until Wellman's passing during the drafting of *Science as Process*. Hull initially obtained a bachelor's degree in biology at Illinois Wesleyan University and later earned his PhD from Indiana University in History and Philosophy of Science. He taught at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for 20 years before moving to Northwestern University, where he taught for another 20 years. He served as president of the Philosophy of Science Association, the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB), and the Society for Systematic Biology. Hull is particularly known for his "species-as-individuals" thesis. He developed the idea of science as an evolutionary process, likening scientific progress to biological evolution with a 'demic population structure' and selection for ideas based on 'conceptual inclusive credit'. His work also touched upon bibliometrics, scientometrics, and the science of science, using citation analysis to understand the survival of scientific ideas. Furthermore, Hull contributed to evolutionary culture theory by introducing the concept of 'interactors' in relation to Richard Dawkins' replicator theory.