Evolutionary causation: biological and philosophical reflections

by Laland, Kevin N. Uller, Tobias

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Title Statements

Full title :Evolutionary causation : biological and philosophical reflections / edited by Tobias Uller and Kevin N. Laland.

Summary

Most scientific explanations are causal. This is certainly the case in evolutionary biology, which seeks to explain the diversity of life and the adaptive fit between organisms and their surroundings. The nature of causation in evolutionary biology, however, is contentious. How causation is understood shapes the structure of evolutionary theory, and historical and contemporary debates in evolutionary biology have revolved around the nature of causation. Despite its centrality, and differing views on the subject, the major conceptual issues regarding the nature of causation in evolutionary biology are rarely addressed. This volume fills the gap, bringing together biologists and philosophers to offer a comprehensive, interdisciplinary treatment of evolutionary causation. Contributors first address biological motivations for rethinking evolutionary causation, considering the ways in which development, extra-genetic inheritance, and niche construction challenge notions of cause and process in evolution, and describing how alternative representations of evolutionary causation can shed light on a range of evolutionary problems. Contributors then analyze evolutionary causation from a philosophical perspective, considering such topics as causal entanglement, the commingling of organism and environment, and the relationship between causation and information.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:2019

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):The MIT Press
Place of Publication:Cambridge, Massachusetts
Language:eng
Publication Date:2019

The Physical Object

Description:viii, 352 sidor : illustrationer : 24 cm

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:9780262039925, 0262039923
oclc:on1196046503
LC Classification:QH360.5
Dewey Decimal:576.8

Evolutionary causation / Tobias Uller and Kevin N. Laland -- Causality and the role of philosophy of science / Massimo Pigliucci -- Understanding bias in the introduction of variation as an evolutionary cause / Arlin Stoltzfus -- The shape of things to come: evo devo perspectives on causes and consequences in evolution / Armin P. Moczek -- Incorporating the environmentally sensitive phenotype into evolutionary thinking / David I. Dayan, Melissa A. Graham, John A. Baker, and Susan A. Foster -- Genotype-environment interaction and the unscripted reaction norm / Sonia E. Sultan -- Understanding niche construction as an evolutionary process / Kevin N. Laland, John Odling-Smee, and Marcus W. Feldman -- Biological dynamics and evolutionary causation / Renee A. Duckworth -- The causes of a major transition: how social insects traverse Darwinian space / Heikki Helanteran and Tobias Uller -- Are developmental plasticity, niche construction and extended inheritance necessary for evolution by natural selection? The role of active phenotypes in the minimal criteria for Darwinian individuality / Richard A. Watson and Christoph Thies -- The paradox of population thinking: first order causes and…