The Philosophy of Biology

Edited by David L. Hull and Michael Ruse

Oxford Readings in Philosophy

Drawing on work of the past decade, this volume brings together articles from the philosophy, history, and sociology of science, and many other branches of the biological sciences. The volume delves into the latest theoretical controversies as well as burning questions of contemporary social importance. The issues considered include the nature of evolutionary theory, biology and ethics, the challenge from religion, and the social implications of biology today (in particular the Human Genome Project).

The Philosophy of Biology

Edited by David L. Hull and Michael Ruse

Oxford Readings in Philosophy

Description

The aim of this series is to bring together important recent writings in major areas of philosophical inquiry, selected from a variety of sources, mostly periodicals, which may not be conveniently available to the university student or the general reader. The editors of each volume contribute an introductory essay on the items chosen and on the questions with which they deal. A selective bibliography is appended as a guide to further reading.

The philosophy of biology today is one of the most exciting areas in philosophical inquiry. Drawing on work of the past decade, this volume brings together articles from the philosophy, history, and sociology of science, as well as many branches of the biological sciences, to consider issues including the nature of evolutionary theory, biology and ethics, the challenge from religion, and the social implications of biology today (in particular the Human Genome Project).

The 36 articles in this collection are divided into 10 parts, each with an introduction by the editors. Spanning issues from epistemology across to ethics, the volume delves into the latest theoretical controversies as well as burning questions of contemporary social importance. Throughout the volume an attempt is made to offer positions from different perspectives, so that the reader will be challenged as well as informed.

The Philosophy of Biology will be essential and fascinating reading for students of philosophy and biology as well as the general reader with an interest in the natural sciences and evolution.

The Philosophy of Biology

Edited by David L. Hull and Michael Ruse

Oxford Readings in Philosophy

Introduction, David L. Hull and Michael Ruse
Part I: Adaptation
Introduction to Part I
1. Adaptation: Current Usages, Mary Jane West-Eberhard
2. Universal Darwinism, Richard Dawkins
3. The Leibnizian Paradigm, D. C. Dennett
4. . Exaptation - A Missing Term in the Science of Form, Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth S. Vrba
5. Six Sayings About Adaptationism, Elliott Sober
Part II: Development
Introduction to Part II
6. Two Concepts of Constraint: Adaptationism and the Challenge from Developmental Biology, Ron Amundson
7. Developmental Systems and Evolutionary Explanation, P. E. Griffiths and R. D. Gray
Part III: Units of Selection
8. The Return of the Gene, Kim Sterelny and Philip Kitcher
9. The Levels of Selection: A Hierarchy of Interactors, Robert N. Brandon
10. A Critical Review of Philosophical Work on the Units of Selection Problem, Elliott Sober and David Sloan Wilson
Part IV: Function
Introduction to Part IV
11. Function Without Purpose: The Uses of Causal Role Function in Evolutionary Biology, Ron Amundson
12. Function and Design, Philip Kitcher
13. Functions: Consensus Without Unity, Peter Godfrey-Smith
Part V: Species
Introduction to Part V
14. Individuality, Pluralism, and the Phylogenetic Species Concept, Brent D. Mishler and Robert N. Brandon
15. Phylogenetic Systematics and the Species Problem, Kevin de Queiroz and Michael J. Donoghue
16. Eliminative Pluralism, Marc Ereshefsky
Part VI: Human Nature
Introduction to Part VI
17. Science and Myth, John Maynard Smith
18. On Human Nature, David L. Hull
19. Gender and Science: Origin, History, and Politics, Evelyn Fox Keller
20. Essentialism, Women, and War: Protesting Too Much, Protesting Too Little, Susan Oyama
21. Essentialism and Constructionism about Sexual Orientation, Edward Stein
Part VII: Altruism
Introduction to Part VII
22. Altruism: Theoretical Contexts, Alexander Rosenberg
23. What Is Evolutionary Altruism?, Elliott Sober
24. On the Relationship Between Evolutionary and Psychological Definitions of Altruism and Selfishness, David Sloan Wilson
Part VIII: Human Genome Project
Introduction to Part VIII
25. The Human Genome Project: Towards an Analysis of the Empirical, Ethical, and Conceptual Issues Involved, Marga Vicedo
26. Who's Afraid of the Human Genome Project?, Philip Kitcher
27. Is Human Genetics Disguised Eugenics?, Diane B. Paul
28. Normality and Variation: The Human Genome Project and the Ideal Human Type, Elisabeth A. Lloyd
29. The Human Genome Project: Research Tactics and Economic Strategies, Alexander Rosenberg
Part IX: Progress
Introduction to Part IX
30. The Moral Foundations of the Idea of Evolutionary Progress: Darwin, Spencer, and the Neo-Darwinians, Robert J. Richards
31. Evolution and Progress, Michael Ruse
32. Complexity and Evolution: What Everybody Knows, Daniel W. McShea
33. On Replacing the Idea of Progress with an Operational Notion of Directionality, Stephen Jay Gould
Part X: Creationism
Introduction to Part X
34. When Faith and Reason Clash: Evolution and the Bible, Alvin Plantinga
35. Evolution and Special Creation, Ernan McMullin
36. Reply to McMullin, Alvin Plantinga
Notes on the Contributors
Further Reading
Index

The Philosophy of Biology

Edited by David L. Hull and Michael Ruse

Oxford Readings in Philosophy

Author Information

David L. Hull is Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University. His publications include Darwin and His Critics (1983), The Metaphysics of Evolution (1989), and Science as a Process: An Evolutionary Account of the Social and Conceptual Development of Science (1991).

Michael Ruse is Professor of Philosophy and Zoology at the University of Guelph. He is founder and editor of the journal Biology and Philosophy and on the editorial board of a number of scientific journals. His publications include The Philosophy of Biology (1989), The Darwinian Paradigm (1989), Evolution Naturalism (1994), and Monad to Man: The Concept of Progress in Evolutionary Biology (1996).