Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology
Contemporary Debates in Philosophy
1. Auflage November 2009
440 Seiten, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
This collection of specially commissioned essays puts top scholars head to head to debate the central issues in the lively and fast growing field of philosophy of biology
* Brings together original essays on ten of the most hotly debated questions in philosophy of biology
* Lively head-to-head debate format sharply defines the issues and paves the way for further discussion
* Includes coverage of the new and vital area of evolutionary developmental biology, as well as the concept of a unified species, the role of genes in selection, the differences between micro- and macro-evolution, and much more
* Each section features an introduction to the topic as well as suggestions for further reading
* Offers an accessible overview of this fast-growing and dynamic field, whilst also capturing the imagination of professional philosophers and biologists
General Introduction
References and Further Reading
Part I: Is It Possible to Reduce Biological Explanations to
Explanations in Chemistry and/or Physics?
Part II: Have Traits Evolved to Function the Way They Do Because
of a Past Advantage?
Part III: Are Species Real?
Part IV: Does Selection Operate Primarily on Genes?
Part V: Are Microevolution and Macroevolution Governed by the
Same Processes?
Part VI: Does Evolutionary Developmental Biology Offer a
Significant Challenge to the Neo-Darwinian Paradigm?
Part VII: Were the Basic Components of the Human Mind Solidified
During the Pleistocene Epoch?
Part VIII: Does Memetics Provide a Useful Way of Understanding
Cultural Evolution?
Part IX: Can the Biological Sciences Act as a Ground for
Ethics?
Part X: Is There a Place for Intelligent Design in the
Philosophy of Biology?
Index
contributions on the species problem by Claridge and Mishler, as
well as the stimulating papers on evolutionary ethics by Ruse and
Ayala) serve as an excellent introduction to the most hotly debated
topics in the philosophy of biology today."
(Metascience, 2011)
"Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above".
(Choice, 1 November 2010)
Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology
"A very fine contribution to the pedagogical literature on
philosophy of biology. The editors are to be congratulated for the
thoughtfulness that went into producing this text. May it gain the
wide acceptance it deserves." (Science & Education, March
2010)
is an engaging anthology with many interesting
contributions. The strength of the book is the format: two
eminent representatives of the biophilosophical community have
their say on a pivotal biophilosophical issue." (style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Metapsychology, May 2010)
"A greatly needed and welcome contribution by excellent scholars,
this book invites newcomers and experts alike to think critically
about core issues in the philosophy of biology."
-Roberta L. Millstein, University of California, Davis
Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, USA.
He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American
Philosophical Society. In 2001, he received the National Medal of
Science. Ayala has published more than 950 articles and is the
author or editor of 31 books. He has been named the Renaissance Man
of Evolutionary Biology by The New York Times.
Robert Arp is an analyst at The Analysis Group, LLC
who has interests in philosophy of biology and ontology in the
informatics sense. He is the author of Scenario
Visualization: An Evolutionary Account of Creative Problem
Solving (2008), and co-editor of Philosophy of Biology: An
Anthology (Blackwell, 2009).
