Facts Conventions And The Levels Of Selection

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Facts, Conventions, and the Levels of Selection

Author : Pierrick Bourrat
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108889360
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (88 download)

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Book Synopsis Facts, Conventions, and the Levels of Selection by : Pierrick Bourrat

Download or read book Facts, Conventions, and the Levels of Selection written by Pierrick Bourrat and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Debates concerning the units and levels of selection have persisted for over fifty years. One major question in this literature is whether units and levels of selection are genuine, in the sense that they are objective features of the world, or merely reflect the interests and goals of an observer. Scientists and philosophers have proposed a range of answers to this question. This Element introduces this literature and proposes a novel contribution. It defends a realist stance and offers a way of delineating genuine levels of selection by invoking the notion of a functional unit.

Units of Selection

Author : Javier Suárez
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009276433
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Units of Selection by : Javier Suárez

Download or read book Units of Selection written by Javier Suárez and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-09-30 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Unit of selection' is a polysemic expression, meaning interactor, replicator/reproducer or manifestor of adaptation/type-1 agent in today's biological research. This Element presents each of these concepts and demonstrates the necessity of their isolation.

The Evolution of Multicellularity

Author : Matthew D. Herron
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1000542556
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Multicellularity by : Matthew D. Herron

Download or read book The Evolution of Multicellularity written by Matthew D. Herron and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-06-07 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the most important innovations in the history of life is the transition from single-celled organisms to more complex, multicellular organisms. Multicellularity has evolved repeatedly across the tree of life, resulting in the evolution of new kinds of organisms that collectively constitute a significant portion of Earth’s biodiversity and have transformed the biosphere. This volume examines the origins and subsequent evolution of multicellularity, reviewing the types of multicellular groups that exist, their evolutionary relationships, the processes that led to their evolution, and the conceptual frameworks in which their evolution is understood. This important volume is intended to serve as a jumping-off point, stimulating further research by summarizing the topics that students and researchers of the evolution of multicellularity should be familiar with, and highlighting future research directions for the field. Chapter 13 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection

Author : Hannah Rubin
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009022350
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection by : Hannah Rubin

Download or read book Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection written by Hannah Rubin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-04-25 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The biological world is full of phenomena that seem to run counter to Darwin's insight that natural selection can lead to the appearance of design. For instance, why do organisms in some species divide reproductive labor? The existence of non-reproducing organisms in such 'eusocial' species looks to be at odds with an evolutionary theory which posits traits exist because they help organisms survive and reproduce. What is the evolutionary advantage of an insect being distasteful to its predators? The distastefulness appears designed to deter predators, but can only affect the predator's actions when the insect is eaten; it is hard to see how such a trait could be passed on. This Element will cover the shared foundations of evolutionary explanations for these and other seemingly puzzling phenomena, focusing on the concepts of inclusive fitness and kin selection.

The Causal Structure of Natural Selection

Author : Charles H. Pence
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108687423
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (86 download)

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Book Synopsis The Causal Structure of Natural Selection by : Charles H. Pence

Download or read book The Causal Structure of Natural Selection written by Charles H. Pence and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-11-04 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent arguments concerning the nature of causation in evolutionary theory, now often known as the debate between the 'causalist' and 'statisticalist' positions, have involved answers to a variety of independent questions – definitions of key evolutionary concepts like natural selection, fitness, and genetic drift; causation in multi-level systems; or the nature of evolutionary explanations, among others. This Element offers a way to disentangle one set of these questions surrounding the causal structure of natural selection. Doing so allows us to clearly reconstruct the approach that some of these major competing interpretations of evolutionary theory have to this causal structure, highlighting particular features of philosophical interest within each. Further, those features concern problems not exclusive to the philosophy of biology. Connections between them and, in two case studies, contemporary metaphysics and philosophy of physics demonstrate the potential value of broader collaboration in the understanding of evolution.

Social evolution and the what, when, why and how of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life

Author : Peter Nonacs
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2832512119
Total Pages : 154 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (325 download)

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Book Synopsis Social evolution and the what, when, why and how of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life by : Peter Nonacs

Download or read book Social evolution and the what, when, why and how of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life written by Peter Nonacs and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-01-27 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Evolution and the Machinery of Chance

Author : Marshall Abrams
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226826635
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (268 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution and the Machinery of Chance by : Marshall Abrams

Download or read book Evolution and the Machinery of Chance written by Marshall Abrams and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2023-07-10 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An innovative view of the role of fitness concepts in evolutionary theory. Natural selection is one of the factors responsible for changes in biological populations. Some traits or organisms are fitter than others, and natural selection occurs when there are changes in the distribution of traits in populations because of fitness differences. Many philosophers of biology insist that a trait’s fitness should be defined as an average of the fitnesses of individual members of the population that have the trait. Marshall Abrams argues convincingly against this widespread approach. As he shows, it conflicts with the roles that fitness is supposed to play in evolutionary theory and with the ways that evolutionary biologists use fitness concepts in empirical research. The assumption that a causal kind of fitness is fundamentally a property of actual individuals has resulted in unnecessary philosophical puzzles and years of debate. Abrams came to see that the fitnesses of traits that are the basis of natural selection cannot be defined in terms of the fitnesses of actual members of populations, as philosophers of biology often claim. Rather, it is an overall population-environment system—not actual, particular organisms living in particular environmental conditions—that is the basis of trait fitnesses. Abrams argues that by distinguishing different classes of fitness concepts and the roles they play in the practice of evolutionary biology, we can see that evolutionary biologists’ diverse uses of fitness concepts make sense together and are consistent with the idea that fitness differences cause evolution. Abrams’s insight has broad significance, for it provides a general framework for thinking about the metaphysics of biological evolution and its relations to empirical research. As such, it is a game-changing book for philosophers of biology, biologists who want deeper insight into the nature of evolution, and anyone interested in the applied philosophy of probability.

Animal Models of Human Disease

Author : Sara Green
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009027425
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Animal Models of Human Disease by : Sara Green

Download or read book Animal Models of Human Disease written by Sara Green and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-04-30 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The crucial role of animal models in biomedical research calls for philosophical investigation of how and whether knowledge about human diseases can be gained by studying other species. This Element delves into the selection and construction of animal models to serve as preclinical substitutes for human patients. It explores the multifaceted roles animal models fulfil in translational research and how the boundaries between humans and animals are negotiated in this process. The book also covers persistent translational challenges that have sparked debates across scientific, philosophical, and public arenas regarding the limitations and future of animal models. Among the are persistent tensions between standardization and variation in medicine, as well as between strategies aiming to reduce and recapitulate biological complexity. Finally, the book examines the prospects of replacing animal models with animal-free methods. The Element demonstrates why animal modeling should be of interest to philosophers, social scientists, and scientists alike.

Evolution and Development

Author : Alan C. Love
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108575072
Total Pages : 91 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (85 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution and Development by : Alan C. Love

Download or read book Evolution and Development written by Alan C. Love and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-03-07 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A philosophical exploration of the interdisciplinary nature of evo-devo and its concepts, including conserved mechanisms, deep homology, and evolutionary novelty. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Systems, Relations, and the Structures of International Societies

Author : Jack Donnelly
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 100935518X
Total Pages : 485 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Systems, Relations, and the Structures of International Societies by : Jack Donnelly

Download or read book Systems, Relations, and the Structures of International Societies written by Jack Donnelly and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-11-02 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues that systems approaches are necessary in order to identify and understand important features of the world.

Ecological Complexity

Author : Alkistis Elliott-Graves
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108903282
Total Pages : 155 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Ecological Complexity by : Alkistis Elliott-Graves

Download or read book Ecological Complexity written by Alkistis Elliott-Graves and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-08-10 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complexity has received substantial attention from scientists and philosophers alike. There are numerous, often conflicting, accounts of how complexity should be defined and how it should be measured. Much less attention has been paid to the epistemic implications of complexity, especially in Ecology. How does the complex nature of ecological systems affect ecologists' ability to study them? This Element argues that ecological systems are complex in a rather special way: they are causally heterogeneous. Not only are they made up of many interacting parts, but their behaviour is variable across space or time. Causal heterogeneity is responsible for many of the epistemic difficulties that ecologists face, especially when making generalisations and predictions. Luckily, ecologists have the tools to overcome these difficulties, though these tools have historically been considered suspect by philosophers of science. The author presents an updated philosophical account with an optimistic outlook of the methods and status of ecological research.

Philosophy of Developmental Biology

Author : Marcel Weber
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108957536
Total Pages : 158 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy of Developmental Biology by : Marcel Weber

Download or read book Philosophy of Developmental Biology written by Marcel Weber and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-04-21 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of developmental biology is interwoven with debates as to whether mechanistic explanations of development are possible or whether alternative explanatory principles or even vital forces need to be assumed. In particular, the demonstrated ability of embryonic cells to tune their developmental fate precisely to their relative position and the overall size of the embryo was once thought to be inexplicable in mechanistic terms. Taking a causal perspective, this Element examines to what extent and how developmental biology, having turned molecular about four decades ago, has been able to meet the vitalist challenge. It focuses not only on the nature of explanations but also on the usefulness of causal knowledge – including the knowledge of classical experimental embryology – for further scientific discovery. It also shows how this causal perspective allows us to understand the nature and significance of some key concepts, including organizer, signal and morphogen. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Hylomorphism

Author : William M. R. Simpson
Publisher : Elements in the Philosophy of Biology
ISBN 13 : 1009410830
Total Pages : 81 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Hylomorphism by : William M. R. Simpson

Download or read book Hylomorphism written by William M. R. Simpson and published by Elements in the Philosophy of Biology. This book was released on 2023-07-20 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element adapts Aristotle's ancient doctrine of hylomorphism for contemporary philosophy of biology to explain the unity of living organisms.

Biological Individuality

Author : Alison K. McConwell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 110894440X
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Biological Individuality by : Alison K. McConwell

Download or read book Biological Individuality written by Alison K. McConwell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-31 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element develops a view about biological individuality's value in two ways: while biological individuality matters for its theoretical and methodological roles in the production of scientific knowledge, its historical use in promoting the politics of social ideologies concerning progress and perfection of humanity's evolutionary future must not be ignored. Recent trends in biological individuality are analyzed and set against the history of evolutionary thought drawing from the early twentieth century.

Structure and Function

Author : Rose Novick
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009033360
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Structure and Function by : Rose Novick

Download or read book Structure and Function written by Rose Novick and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-31 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of biology is mottled with disputes between two distinct approaches to the organic world: structuralism and functionalism. Their persistence across radical theory change makes them difficult to characterize: the characterization must be abstract enough to capture biologists with diverse theoretical commitments, yet not so abstract as to be vacuous. This Element develops a novel account of structuralism and functionalism in terms of explanatory strategies (Section 2). This reveals the possibility of integrating the two strategies; the explanatory successes of evolutionary-developmental biology essentially depend on such integration (Section 3). Neither explanatory strategy is universally subordinate to the other, though subordination with respect to particular explanatory tasks is possible (Section 4). Beyond structuralism and functionalism, philosophical analysis that centers explanatory strategies can illuminate conflicts within evolutionary theory more generally (Section 5).

Human Nature

Author : Grant Ramsey
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108615074
Total Pages : 119 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (86 download)

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Book Synopsis Human Nature by : Grant Ramsey

Download or read book Human Nature written by Grant Ramsey and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-08-10 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human nature is frequently evoked to characterize our species and describe how it differs from others. But how should we understand this concept? What is the nature of a species? Some take our nature to be an essence and argue that because humans lack an essence, they also lack a nature. Others argue for non-essentialist ways of understanding human nature, which usually aim to provide criteria for sorting human traits into one of two bins, the one belonging to our nature and the other outside our nature. This Element argues that both the essentialist and trait bin approaches are misguided. Instead, the author develops a trait cluster account of human nature, which holds that human nature is based on the distribution of our traits over our (actual and possible) life histories. One benefit of this account is that it aligns human nature with the human sciences, rendering the central concern of the human sciences to be the study of human nature. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

The Philosophy of Evolutionary Theory

Author : Elliott Sober
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009376047
Total Pages : 307 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis The Philosophy of Evolutionary Theory by : Elliott Sober

Download or read book The Philosophy of Evolutionary Theory written by Elliott Sober and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-08 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural selection, mutation, and adaptation are well-known and central topics in Darwin's theory of evolution and in the 20th - and 21st -century theories which grew out of it, but many other important topics are used in evolutionary biology that raise interesting philosophical questions. In this book, Elliott Sober analyses a much larger range of topics, including fitness, altruism, common ancestry, chance, taxonomy, phylogenetic inference, operationalism, reductionism, conventionalism, null hypotheses and default reasoning, instrumentalism versus realism, hypothetico-deductivism, essentialism, falsifiability, the principle of parsimony, the principle of the common cause, causality, determinism versus indeterminism, sensitivity to initial conditions, and the knowability of the past. Sober's clear philosophical analyses of these key concepts, arguments, and methods of inference will be valuable for all readers who want to understand evolutionary biology in both its Darwinian and its contemporary forms.