Quantum theory Shanks early work was focused on so-called
hidden-variables theory of non-relativistic elementary
quantum mechanics, and the problem of the construction of classical models (models exhibiting the properties of determinateness and determinism) for quantum measurement statistics. Shanks argued that the various no-hidden-variables proofs rested on questionable assumptions which a classical modeller could plausibly deny. Shanks would later argue that local deterministic models were indeed possible for the puzzling quantum spin correlation statistics that were used to characterise
Bell's Theorem (a modern incarnation of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox
EPR paradox). Shanks' essay, "Quantum Mechanics and Determinism" (
Philosophical Quarterly, 1993, vol. 43, 170:20–37) summarises his arguments in an accessible manner. At this point in time, working with W. David Sharp, Shanks examined some puzzles concerning
counterfactual interpretations of quantum mechanics. This work culminated in the
Sharp and Shanks proof that counterfactual interpretations of quantum spin measurements could not be reconciled with the validated predictions of quantum mechanics.
Animals, science and animal science Shanks has explored the role played by animal experimentation in the contexts of
anatomy and
physiology during the
renaissance. He has argued that animal experimentation provided a crucial driving force behind the method of analysis and synthesis that would come to play a central role in the emergence of the physico-chemical sciences in the 17th and 18th centuries. According to Shanks, the development of modern science flows from
physik (i.e., medicine) to
physics, and not the reverse as is commonly supposed. Physics would ultimately come to have profound implications for physiology, and these matters are explored by Shanks in his work on the writings of the great 19th century French physiologist,
Claude Bernard. In the course of his explorations of the implications of the study of animals for the modern scientific view of the world, Shanks has explored the issue of animal consciousness and the question as to what, if anything, science can teach us about the mental lives of animals. Shanks has argued that there is no straightforward fact of the matter to settle disputes between those who have a very generous view of the mental lives of animals (for example, in some versions of
cognitive ethology derived from the work of
Donald Griffin), and those who favour minimalistic cognitive estimates (for example, some species of
behaviorism). Shanks has argued that disputes about these matters hinge not on appeals to the facts, but rather on disputes about what the relevant facts are, and where these disputes do not themselves admit of a straightforward factual resolution.
Creationism Shanks was a staunch defender of
evolutionary biology and a vehement opponent of
creationism (and its recent incarnation in the form of
intelligent design theology). Shanks conducted numerous public debates with creationists and advocates of intelligent design, including
Duane Gish,
William Dembski,
Paul Nelson (creationist) and
Michael Behe. have generated some interest in this puzzle. ==Publications==