Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology 2 (20130604) (2010)
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Abstract |
One central tenet of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis , and the consensus view among biologists until now, is that all genetic mutations occur by “chance” or at “random” with respect to adaptation. However, the discovery of some molecular mechanisms enhancing mutation rate in response to environmental conditions has given rise to discussions among biologists, historians and philosophers of biology about the “chance” vs “directed” character of mutations . In fact, some argue that mutations due to a particular kind of mutator mechanisms challenge the Modern Synthesis because they are produced when and where needed by the organisms concerned. This paper provides a defense of the Modern Synthesis’ consensus view about the chance nature of all genetic mutations by reacting to Jablonka and Lamb’s analysis of genetic mutations and the explicit Lamarckian flavor of their arguments. I argue that biologists can continue to talk about chance mutations according to what I call and define as the notion of “evolutionary chance,” which I claim is the Modern Synthesis’ consensus view and a reformulation of Darwin’s most influential idea of “chance” variation. Advances in molecular genetics are therefore significant but not revolutionary with respect to the Modern Synthesis’ paradigm.
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Keywords | Biased chance Chance Darwin Directed mutation Lamarckism Modern Synthesis Mutator mechanism Random mutation |
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DOI | 10.3998/ptb.6959004.0002.003 |
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References found in this work BETA
On the Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.Charles Darwin - 1859 - Sterling.
Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life.Eva Jablonka, Marion J. Lamb & Anna Zeligowski - 2005 - Bradford.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication.Charles Darwin - 1868 - Johns Hopkins University Press.
Reasoning in Biological Discoveries: Essays on Mechanisms, Interfield Relations, and Anomaly Resolution.Lindley Darden - 2006 - Cambridge University Press.
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Citations of this work BETA
The Evolutionary Gene and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis.Qiaoying Lu & Pierrick Bourrat - 2018 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 69 (3):775-800.
Probability in Biology: The Case of Fitness.Roberta L. Millstein - 2016 - In A. Hájek & C. R. Hitchcock (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Probability and Philosophy. Oxford University Press. pp. 601-622.
The Real Conflict Between Science and Religion: Alvin Plantinga’s Ignoratio Elenchi.Herman Philipse - 2013 - European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 5 (2):87--110.
View all 15 citations / Add more citations
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