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Discussion: Darwin's Argument in The Origin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

M. J. S. Hodge
M. J. S. Hodge*
Affiliation:
Division of History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds
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Abstract

Various claims have been made, recently, that Darwin's argumentation in the Origin instantiates and so supports some general philosophical proposal about scientific theorizing, for example, the “semantic view”. But these claims are grounded in various incorrect analyses of that argumentation. A summary is given here of an analysis defended at greater length in several papers by the present author. The historical and philosophical advantages of this analysis are explained briefly. Darwin's argument comprises three distinct evidential cases on behalf of natural selection, cases, that is, for its existence, its adequacy and its responsibility. Theorizing, today, about evolution by natural selection involves a similar structure of evidential and explanatory concerns.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 59 , Issue 3 , September 1992 , pp. 461 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

Send reprint requests to the author, Division of History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, ENGLAND.

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