Contingency and Convergence: Toward a Cosmic Biology of Body and Mind

329 Pages·2020·14.377 MB·English

by  Russell Powell

Contingency and Convergence
Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology
Gerd B. Müller, editor- in- chief
Johannes Jäger, Thomas Pradeu, Katrin Schäfer, associate editors
The Evolution of Cognition, edited by Cecilia Heyes and Ludwig Huber, 2000
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Environment, Development, and Evolution, edited by Brian K. Hall, Roy D.
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Evolution of Communication Systems, edited by D. Kimbrough Oller and
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Compositional Evolution: The Impact of Sex, Symbiosis, and Modularity on
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Biological Emergences: Evolution by Natural Experiment, by Robert G. B.
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Modeling Biology: Structure, Behaviors, Evolution, edited by Manfred D.
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Evolution of Communicative Flexibility, edited by Kimbrough D. Oller and
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Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds, edited by Ulrich Krohs and
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Cognitive Biology, edited by Luca Tommasi, Mary A. Peterson and Lynn
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Innovation in Cultural Systems, edited by Michael J. O’Brien and Stephen J.
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The Major Transitions in Evolution Revisited, edited by Brett Calcott and Kim
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Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful, by George McGhee,
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Rethinking Human Evolution, edited by Jeffrey H. Schwartz, 2017
Convergent Evolution in Stone-T ool Technology, edited by Michael J. O’Brien,
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Evolutionary Causation: Biological and Philosophical Reflections, edited by
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Convergent Evolution on Earth: Lessons for the Search for Extraterrestrial
Life, by George McGhee, 2019

Contingency and Convergence
Toward a Cosmic Biology of Body and Mind
Russell Powell
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or
mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval)
without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book was set in Times Roman by Westchester Publishing Services, Danbury, CT.
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Powell, Russell, author.
Title: Contingency and convergence : toward a cosmic biology of body and mind / Russell Powell.
Description: Cambridge, MA : MIT Press, [2019] | Series: Vienna series in theoretical biology |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019009760 | ISBN 9780262043397 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Evolution (Biology)--Philosophy. | Convergence (Biology)--Philosophy.
Classification: LCC QH360.5 .P68 2019 | DDC 576.8--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019009760
For Alexander Teoman Powell

Contents
Series Foreword xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction: The Big Picture 1
I CONVERGENT BODIES 11
1 Visions of the Living Cosmos 13
1. The Cosmic Imperative of Life 14
1.1 On Lacunae and Laws 14
1.2 The Timing and Likelihood of Life’s Origin 17
1.3 The Single Origin Anomaly 19
2. Extending the Cosmic Imperative: Nonbiological Approaches 24
2.1 The Copernican Principle and Observer Selection Effects 24
2.2 The Uniformity of Nature 28
3. The Cosmic Contingency Thesis 30
3.1 The Biologist as SETI Spoilsport 30
2 The Radical Contingency Thesis 33
1. Counterfactuals in the Historical Sciences 35
2. Counterfactuals in Animal Evolution 37
3. The Radical Contingency Thesis 43
3.1 Stochastic Extinction 44
3.2 Faunal Turnover 46
3.3 Developmental Entrenchment 50
3.4 The Causal Topography of Development 52
3.5 Decimation and Diversification 55
4. Two Empirical Critiques 57
4.1 The Critique from Taxonomy 58
4.2 The Critique from Paleoecology 62