British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 46 (2):155-183 (1995)
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This paper surveys recent philosophy of biology. It aims to introduce outsiders to the field to the recent literature (which is reviewed in the footnotes) and the main recent debates. I concentrate on three of these: recent critiques of the replicator/vehicle distinction and its application to the idea of the gene as the unit of section; the recent defences of group selection and the idea that standard alternatives to group selection are in fact no more than a disguised form of group selection; and recent ideas on the role of selection in evolution, especially the role of selection in structuring the large-scale history of life. The paper connects philosophy of biology to some more general problems in the philosophy of science, and concludes with a few suggestions about unfinished business.
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DOI | 10.1093/bjps/46.2.155 |
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References found in this work BETA
The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture.Jerome H. Barkow, Leda Cosmides & John Tooby - 1992 - Oxford University Press.
The Nature of Selection: Evolutionary Theory in Philosophical Focus.Elliott Sober - 1984 - University of Chicago Press.
The Advancement of Science: Science Without Legend, Objectivity Without Illusions.Philip Kitcher - 1993 - Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science.John Dupré - 1993 - Harvard University Press.
View all 54 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
When is It Co-Evolution? A Reply to Steen and Co-Authors.Mark Sagoff - 2019 - Biology and Philosophy 34 (1):10.
A Functional Account of Degrees of Minimal Chemical Life.Mark A. Bedau - 2012 - Synthese 185 (1):73-88.
Traits, Genes, and Coding.Michael Wheeler - 2007 - In Michael Ruse (ed.), Philosophy of Biology. Prometheus Books. pp. 369--401.
Twisted Tales: Causal Complexity and Cognitive Scientific Explanation. [REVIEW]Andy Clark - 1998 - Minds and Machines 8 (1):79-99.
View all 11 citations / Add more citations
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