Philosophy of Biology

About this book

Philosophy of Biology is a rapidly expanding field. It is concerned with explanatory concepts in evolution, genetics, and ecology. This collection of 25 essays by leading researchers provides an overview of the state of the field. These essays are wholly new; none of them could have been written even ten years ago. They demonstrate how philosophical analysis has been able to contribute to sometimes contested areas of scientific theory making.

Contents

General Preface (D. Gabbay, P. Thagard and J. Woods) Contents Preface (Mohan Matthen and Christopher Stephens) List of Contributors I. Biography Darwin (Michael Ruse) Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (Robert A. Skipper, Jr) Haldane and the Emergence of Modern Evolutionary Theory (Sahotra. Sarkar) Sewall Wright (James F. Crow) Motoo Kimura (James F. Crow) II. Evolution Natural Selection (Christopher Stephens) Neutralism (Anya Plutynski) Levels of Selection (Robert A. Wilson) What is Evolvability (Kim Sterelny) Development: Three Grades of Ontogenetic Involvement (D.M. Walsh) Evolution and Normativity (Michael Bradie) Evolutionary Ethics (Catherine Wilson) III Genetics Genetic Analysis (Raphael Falk) The Development of Population Genetics (Margaret Morrison) Maximisation Principles in Evolutionary Biology (A.W.F. Edwards) Reductionism in Biology (Alex Rosenberg) Traits, Genes and Coding (Michael Wheeler) IV. Taxonomy Species, Taxonomy and Systematics (Marc Ereshefsky) Homology and Homoplasy (Brian Hall) Biological Conceptions of Race (Robin O. Andreasen) V. Special Topics Formalisations of Evolutionary Biology (Paul Thompson) Functions (Tim Lewens) Biological Approaches to Mental Representation (Karen Neander) Innateness (Andre Ariew) Artificial Life (Mark Bedau) Index

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