Evolution, Explanation, Ethics and Aesthetics: Towards a Philosophy of Biology focuses on the dominant biological topic of evolution. It deals with the prevailing philosophical themes of how to explain the adaptation of organisms, the interplay of chance and necessity, and the recurrent topics of emergence, reductionism, and progress. In addition, the extensively treated topic of how to explain human nature as a result of natural processes and the encompassed issues of the foundations of morality and the brain-to-mind transformation is discussed.
The philosophy of biology is a rapidly expanding field, not more than half a century old at most, and to a large extent is replacing the interest in the philosophy of physics that prevailed in the first two-thirds of the twentieth century. Few texts available have the benefit of being written by an eminent biologist who happens to be also a philosopher, as in this work.
This book is a useful resource for seminar courses and college courses on the philosophy of biology. Researchers, academics, and students in evolutionary biology, behavior, genetics, and biodiversity will also be interested in this work, as will those in human biology and issues such as ethics, religion, and the human mind, along with professional philosophers of science and those concerned with such issues as whether evolution is compatible with religion and/or where morality comes from.
1. Cover image - p. i 2. Title page - p. ii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iv 5. Preface - p. xi 6. Part I. Evolution - p. xiii 7. Chapter 1. The Darwinian Revolution - p. 3 8. Chapter 2. Evolution Is a “Fact” - p. 23 9. Chapter 3. Life's Origin - p. 47 10. Chapter 4. LUCA and the Tree of Life - p. 55 11. Chapter 5. Three Grand Challenges of Human Biology - p. 79 12. Part II. Explanation - p. 96 13. Chapter 6. Design Without Designer - p. 99 14. Chapter 7. Adaptation and Novelty: Teleological Explanations in Evolutionary Biology - p. 121 15. Chapter 8. Evolution and Progress - p. 143 16. Chapter 9. The Scientific Method - p. 163 17. Chapter 10. Reduction and Emergence - p. 195 18. Chapter 11. Microevolution and Macroevolution: A New Evolutionary Synthesis? - p. 211 19. Part III. Ethics, Aesthetics, and Religion - p. 236 20. Chapter 12. Ethics - p. 239 21. Chapter 13. Aesthetics - p. 261 22. Chapter 14. Religion - p. 277 23. Chapter 15. Law and the Courts - p. 299 24. Chapter 16. Intelligent Design - p. 313 25. Chapter 17. Human Evolution, Genetic Engineering, and Cloning - p. 339 26. Glossary - p. 361 27. References - p. 373 28. Index - p. 397
Evolution, Explanation, Ethics and Aesthetics: Towards a Philosophy of Biology focuses on the dominant biological topic of evolution. It deals with the prevailing philosophical themes of how to explain the adaptation of organisms, the interplay of chance and necessity, and the recurrent topics of emergence, reductionism, and progress. In addition, the extensively treated topic of how to explain human nature as a result of natural processes and the encompassed issues of the foundations of morality and the brain-to-mind transformation is discussed.
The philosophy of biology is a rapidly expanding field, not more than half a century old at most, and to a large extent is replacing the interest in the philosophy of physics that prevailed in the first two-thirds of the twentieth century. Few texts available have the benefit of being written by an eminent biologist who happens to be also a philosopher, as in this work.
This book is a useful resource for seminar courses and college courses on the philosophy of biology. Researchers, academics, and students in evolutionary biology, behavior, genetics, and biodiversity will also be interested in this work, as will those in human biology and issues such as ethics, religion, and the human mind, along with professional philosophers of science and those concerned with such issues as whether evolution is compatible with religion and/or where morality comes from.
1. Cover image - p. i 2. Title page - p. ii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iv 5. Preface - p. xi 6. Part I. Evolution - p. xiii 7. Chapter 1. The Darwinian Revolution - p. 3 8. Chapter 2. Evolution Is a “Fact” - p. 23 9. Chapter 3. Life's Origin - p. 47 10. Chapter 4. LUCA and the Tree of Life - p. 55 11. Chapter 5. Three Grand Challenges of Human Biology - p. 79 12. Part II. Explanation - p. 96 13. Chapter 6. Design Without Designer - p. 99 14. Chapter 7. Adaptation and Novelty: Teleological Explanations in Evolutionary Biology - p. 121 15. Chapter 8. Evolution and Progress - p. 143 16. Chapter 9. The Scientific Method - p. 163 17. Chapter 10. Reduction and Emergence - p. 195 18. Chapter 11. Microevolution and Macroevolution: A New Evolutionary Synthesis? - p. 211 19. Part III. Ethics, Aesthetics, and Religion - p. 236 20. Chapter 12. Ethics - p. 239 21. Chapter 13. Aesthetics - p. 261 22. Chapter 14. Religion - p. 277 23. Chapter 15. Law and the Courts - p. 299 24. Chapter 16. Intelligent Design - p. 313 25. Chapter 17. Human Evolution, Genetic Engineering, and Cloning - p. 339 26. Glossary - p. 361 27. References - p. 373 28. Index - p. 397
