Abstract
The ontological dependence of one domain on another is compatible with the explanatory autonomy of the less basic domain. That autonomy results from the fact that the relationship between two domains can be very complex. In this paper I distinguish two different types of complexity, two ways the relationship between domains can fail to be transparent, both of which are relevant to evolutionary biology. Sometimes high level explanations preserve a certain type of causal or counterfactual information which would be lost at the lower level; I argue that this is central to the proper understanding of the adaptationist program. Sometimes high level kinds are multiply realised by lower level kinds: I argue that this is central to the understanding of macroevolution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allmon, W.: 1992, ‘A Causal Analysis of Stages in Allopatric Speciation’, in Futuyma, D. and Antonovics, J. (eds.), Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology 8.
Barkow, J., Cosmides, L. and Tooby, J. (eds.): 1992, The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture, OUP, Oxford.
Brandon, R.: 1990, Adaptation and Environment, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Damuth, J.: 1985, ‘Selection Among “Species”: A Formulation in terms of Natural Functional Units’, Evolution 39, 1132–1146.
Damuth, J. and L. Heisler: 1988, ‘Alternative Formulations of Multilevel Selection’, Biology and Philosophy 3, 407–430.
Dawkins, R.: 1989, ‘The Evolution of Evolvability’, in Langton, C. (ed.), Artificial Life VI Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity, Addison-Wesley, California.
Diamond, J.: 1992, The Third Chimpanzee, Harper/Collins, New York.
Dretske, F.: 1972, ‘Contrastive Statements’, Philosophical Review 81, 411–437.
Eldredge, N.: 1989, Macroevolutionary Dynamics, McGraw Hill, New York.
Garfinkel, A.: 1981, Forms of Explanation, Yale University Press, New Haven.
Gilinsky, N.L.: 1986, ‘Species Selection As A Causal Process’, Evolutionary Biology 20, 249–273.
Godfrey-Smith, P.: 1991, Teleonomy and the Philosophy of Mind, UCSD Ph.D. dissertation.
Gould, S.J.: 1989, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, W.W. NNorton, New York.
Gould, S.J.: 1991, ‘Of Kiwi Eggs and the Liberty Bell’, in Gould, S.J. (ed.), Bully for Brontosaurus, W.W. Norton, New York.
Gould, S.J. and R. Lewontin: 1979, ‘The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Program’, Proceedings of the Royal Society, 205, 581–598.
Griffiths, P.: 1994, ‘Cladistic Classification and Functional Explanation’, Philosophy of Science 61, 206–227.
Horan, B.H.: 1989, ‘Functional Explanations in Sociobiology’, Biology and Philosophy 4, 131–205.
Hutchinson, G.E.: 1959, ‘Homage to Santa Rosalia; or, Why are there So Many Kinds of Animals’, American Naturalist 93, 145–159.
Jackson, F. and P. Pettit: 1992, ‘In Defence of Explanatory Ecumenicalism’, Economics and Philosophy 8, 1–21.
Maynard-Smith, J.: 1987, ‘How to Model Evolution’, in Dupre, J. (ed.), The Latest on the Best, MIT Press, Cambridge.
McIntosh, R.: 1992, ‘Competition: Historical Perspectives’, in Keller, E.F. and Lloyd, E. (eds.), Keywords in Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
McNamara, K.: 1987, ‘Australian Ammonites’, Australian Natural History 22, 332–336.
Orzack, S. and E. Sober: 1994, ‘How (Not) To Test an Optimality Model’, Trends In Ecology and Evolution 9, 265–267.
Raup, D.M.: 1991, Extinction: Bad genes or Bad Luck?, W.W. Norton, New York.
Schull, J.: 1990, ‘Are Species Intelligent?’, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 13, 63–108.
Sober, E.: 1987, ‘What is Adaptationism’, in Dupre, J. (ed.), The Latest on the Best, MIT Press, Cambridge.
Sober, E.: 1993, Philosophy of Biology, Westview Press, Boulder.
Sterelny, K.: 1990, The Representational Theory of Mind, Blackwell, Oxford.
Sterelny, K. and P. Kitcher: 1988, ‘The Return of the Gene’, Journal of Philosophy 85, 339–361.
Valentine, J.W.: 1990, ‘The macroevolution of Clade Shape’, in Ross, R. and Allmon, W. (eds.), The Causes of Evolution: A Paleontological Perspective; Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1990.
Vrba, E.S.: 1984a, ‘Patterns in the Fossil Record and Evolutionary Processes’, in Ho, M-W. and Saunders, P. (eds.), Beyond Neo-Darwinism: An Introduction to the New Evolutionary Paradigm, Academic Press, London.
Vrba, E.S.: 1984b, ‘Evolutionary Pattern and process in the Sister-Group Alcelaphini-Aepycerotini (Mammalia: Bovidae)’, in Eldredge, N. and Stanley, S. (eds.), Living Fossils, Springer Verlag, New York.
Williams, G.C.: 1992, Natural Selection: Domains, Levels and Challenges, OUP, New York.
Wills, C.: 1991, The Wisdom of the Genes, OUP, Oxford.
Wilson, S.D.: 1992, ‘Complex Interaction in Metacommunities, with implications for Bio-diversity and Higher Levels of Selection’, Ecology 73, 1984–2000.
Wilson, S.D. and Sober, E.: 1989, ‘Reviving the Superorganism’, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 136, 337–356.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sterelny, K. Explanatory pluralism in evolutionary biology. Biol Philos 11, 193–214 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00128919
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00128919