Abstract
The Formal Darwinism project probes the connections between the dynamics of natural selection and the design of organisms. Here, I explain why this work should be of interest to philosophers, arguing that it is the natural development in a long-running scholarly enquiry into the meaning of life. I then review some of my own work which has applied the tools of Formal Darwinism to address issues concerning the units of adaptation in social evolution, leading to a deeper understanding of the adaptation of individual organisms. Finally, I sketch some directions Formal Darwinism to explore beyond the biological sciences, with a focus upon cosmology.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barrow JD, Tipler FJ (1986) The anthropic cosmological principle. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Bostrom N (2002) Anthropic bias: observation selection effects in science and philosophy. Routledge, New York
Burt A, Trivers R (2006) Genes in conflict. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Dawkins R (1976) The selfish gene. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Fodor J, Piattelli-Palmarini M (2010) What Darwin got wrong. Profile Books Ltd, London
Gardner A (2013) Adaptation of individuals and groups. In: Bouchard F, Huneman P (eds) From groups to individuals. MIT Press, Cambridge
Gardner A, Conlon JP (2013) Cosmological natural selection and the purpose of the universe. Complexity 18:48–56
Gardner A (2014) Genomic imprinting and the units of adaptation. Heredity (in press)
Gardner A, Grafen A (2009) Capturing the superorganism: a formal theory of group adaptation. J Evol Biol 22:659–671
Gardner A, Welch JJ (2011) A formal theory of the selfish gene. J Evol Biol 24:1801–1813
Haig D (2002) Genomic imprinting and kinship. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick
Maynard Smith J (1988) Evolutionary progress and the levels of selection. In: Nitecki MH (ed) Evolutionary progress. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Price GR (1970) Selection and covariance. Nature 227:520–521
Price GR (1972) Extension of covariance selection mathematics. Ann Hum Genet 35:485–490
Price GR (1995) The nature of selection. J Theor Biol 175:389–396
Smolin L (1992) Did the universe evolve? Class Quantum Gravity 9:173–191
Sober E, Wilson DS (1998) Unto others: the evolution and psychology of unselfish behavior. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Sober E, Wilson DS (2011) Adaptation and natural selection revisited. J Evol Biol 24:462–468
Stenger VJ (2011) The fallacy of fine-tuning: why the universe is not designed for us. Prometheus Books, New York
Tegmark M, Aguirre A, Rees MJ, Wilczek F (2006) Dimensionless constants, cosmology and other dark matters. Physical Review D 73:023505
Weinberg S (1987) Anthropic bound on the cosmological constant. Phys Rev Lett 59:2607–2610
Williams GC (1966) Adaptation and natural selection. Princeton University Press, New Jersey
Funding
I am funded by the Royal Society of London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gardner, A. Life, the universe and everything. Biol Philos 29, 207–215 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-013-9417-8
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-013-9417-8