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Biological Individuality and Scientific Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Karen Kovaka
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Abstract

I consider the relationship between scientific practice and the philosophical debate surrounding biological individuality. I argue for the sensitivity account, on which biologists do not require a resolution to the individuality debate. This view puts me in disagreement with much of the literature on biological individuality, where it has become common to claim that there is a relationship of dependence between biologists’ conceptions of individuality and the quality of their empirical work.

Type
Biology
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 82 , Issue 5 , December 2015 , pp. 1092 - 1103
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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