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Variations in Variation and Selection: The Ubiquity of the Variation-and-Selective-Retention Ratchet in Emergent Organizational Complexity

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Abstract

The variation and selection form of explanationcan be prescinded from the evolutionary biologyhome ground in which it was discovered and forwhich it has been most developed. When this isdone, variation and selection explanations arefound to have potential application to a widerange of phenomena, far beyond the classicalbiological ground and the contemporaryextensions into epistemological domains. Itappears as the form of explanation most suitedto phenomena of fit. It is also found toparticipate in multiple interestingrelationships with other forms of explanation. We proceed with an examination of multiplekinds of phenomena, interrelationships withother members of the family of forms ofexplanation, and some novel applications evenwithin the home ground of evolutionary biology.

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  1. Cognitive Science, Lehigh University, 17 Memorial Drive East, Bethlehem, PA, 18015-3068, USA

    Mark H. Bickhard

  2. Sociology and Anthropology, Lehigh University, 681 Taylor Street, Bethlehem, PA, 18015-3169, USA

    Donald T. Campbell

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Bickhard, M.H., Campbell, D.T. Variations in Variation and Selection: The Ubiquity of the Variation-and-Selective-Retention Ratchet in Emergent Organizational Complexity. Foundations of Science 8, 215–282 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025046917589

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