Philosophy of Biology

An Anthology

Rosenberg, Alex / Arp, Robert (Editor)

Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies

1. Edition March 2009
464 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-4051-8316-1

John Wiley & Sons

Sample Chapter

Short Description

Rapid biological advances and new standards of philosophical rigor are casting age-old questions about the nature and methodology of the biological sciences in a dramatic new light. By combining excerpts from key historical writings with editors' introductions and further reading material, Philosophy of Biology: An Anthology offers a comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date collection of the field's most significant works. The text is organized to provide readers at all levels with a thorough grounding in the general history, philosophy, and science behind debates that remain at the heart of the philosophy of biology.

By combining excerpts from key historical writings with editors' introductions and further reading material, Philosophy of Biology: An Anthology offers a comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date collection of the field's most significant works.
* Addresses central questions such as 'What is life?' and 'How did it begin?', and the most current research and arguments on evolution and developmental biology
* Editorial notes throughout the text define, clarify, and qualify ideas, concepts and arguments
* Includes material on evolutionary psychology and evolutionary developmental biology not found in other standard philosophy of biology anthologies
* Further reading material assists novices in delving deeper into research in philosophy of biology

Personal Acknowledgments

Source Acknowledgments

General Introduction: A Short History of Philosophy of Biology: Alex Rosenberg and Robert Arp

Part I: Basic Principles and Proofs of Darwinism

Part II: Evolution and Chance

Part III: The Tautology Problem

Part IV: Adaptationism

Part V: Biological Function and Teleology

Part VI: Evolutionary Developmental Biology

Part VII: Reductionism and the Biological Sciences

Part VIII: Species and Classification Problems

Part IX: The Units of Selection Debate

Part X: Sociobiology and Ethics

Part XI: Evolutionary Psychology

Part XII: Design and Creationism

Alex Rosenberg is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Biology and Director of the Center for Philosophy of Biology at Duke University. He has published 11 books on the philosophy of science including The Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary Introduction (2007) with Daniel McShea. In 1993, he won the Lakatos Prize in the Philosophy of Science and in 2007 was the National Phi Beta Kappa Rommell lecturer in philosophy.

Robert Arp is Research Associate with the National Center for Biomedical Ontology at the University of Buffalo and works with the Ontology Research Group at the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences in Buffalo, New York. A PhD in Philosophy from Saint Louis University, he has published in the areas of philosophy of biology, philosophy of mind, and biomedical ontology.

A. Rosenberg, Duke University, USA; R. Arp, University of Buffalo, USA