Synthese 175 (3):405 - 425 (2010)
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Abstract |
Biologists and philosophers that debate the existence of the species category fall into two camps. Some believe that the species category does not exist and the term 'species' should be eliminated from biology. Others believe that with new biological insights or the application of philosophical ideas, we can be confident that the species category exists. This paper offers a different approach to the species problem. We should be skeptical of the species category, but not skeptical of the existence of those taxa biologists call 'species.' And despite skepticism over the species category, there are pragmatic reasons for keeping the word 'species.' This approach to the species problem is not new. Darwin employed a similar strategy to the species problem 150 years ago
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Keywords | Darwin Species Species problem Species category Family resemblance General lineage concept Homeostatic property cluster theory |
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DOI | 10.1007/s11229-009-9538-4 |
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References found in this work BETA
The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science.John Dupré - 1993 - Harvard University Press.
The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance.Ernst Mayr - 1982 - Belknap Press, 1982.
View all 46 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Microbiology and the Species Problem.Marc Ereshefsky - 2010 - Biology and Philosophy 25 (4):553-568.
Conceptual Fragmentation and the Rise of Eliminativism.Henry Taylor & Peter Vickers - 2017 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 7 (1):17-40.
Eliminative Pluralism and Integrative Alternatives: The Case of Species.Matthew J. Barker - 2019 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 70 (3):657-681.
Why Was Darwin’s View of Species Rejected by Twentieth Century Biologists?James Mallet - 2010 - Biology and Philosophy 25 (4):497-527.
Prototypical Reasoning About Species and the Species Problem.Yuichi Amitani - 2015 - Biological Theory 10 (4):289-300.
View all 19 citations / Add more citations
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