Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy)

254 Pages·2007·1.9 MB·English

by  Alex Rosenberg

Philosophy of Biology
Is life a purely physical process? Does the theory of natural selection conflict
with theism and, if so, how can we rationally choose between them? What is
human nature? Which of our traits are essential to us?
Biology is the branch of science most immediately relevant to many dis-
tinctively human concerns, so it is natural that it should be the site of great
controversy and debate. The philosophy of biology addresses not only those
questions that biology cannot yet (or perhaps ever) answer but also the fur-
ther questions about why biology may be unable to answer those questions.
In this volume, Daniel McShea and Alex Rosenberg—a biologist and a
philosopher, respectively—join forces to create a new gateway to the philoso-
phy of biology, making the major issues accessible and relevant to biologists
and philosophers alike.
Exploring concepts such as supervenience, the controversies about geno-
centrism and genetic determinism, and the debate about major transitions
central to contemporary thinking about macroevolution, the authors lay out
the broad terms in which we should assess the impact of biology on human
capacities, social institutions, and ethical values.
Alex Rosenberg is R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University.
He is the author of Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction (2nd
edition, 2005) and co-editor with Yuri Balashov of Philosophy of Science:
Contemporary Readings (2002).
Daniel W. McShea is Associate Professor of Biology at Duke University.
Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy
Series editor:
Paul K. Moser
Loyola University of Chicago
This innovative, well-structured series is for students who have already done an
introductory course in philosophy. Each book introduces a core general subject
in contemporary philosophy and offers students an accessible but substantial
transition from introductory to higher level college work in that subject. The
series is accessible to nonspecialists and each book clearly motivates and
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introduces its topic and reminds readers of any crucial material they need to
have retained from a typical introductory course. Considerable attention is
given to explaining the central philosophical problems of a subject and the
main competing solutions and arguments for those solutions. The primary
aim is to educate students in the main problems, positions, and arguments
of contemporary philosophy rather than to convince students of a single
position.
Classical Philosophy Philosophy of Religion
Christopher Shields Keith E. Yandell
Epistemology, 2nd edition Philosophy of Science, 2nd
Robert Audi edition
Alex Rosenberg
Ethics
Harry Gensler Social and Political
Philosophy
Metaphysics, 2nd edition John Christman
Michael J. Loux
Philosophy of Psychology
Philosophy of Art José Bermudez
Noël Carroll
Classical Modern
Philosophy of Language Philosophy
William G. Lycan Jeffrey Tlumak
Philosophy of Mind, 2nd
edition
John Heil
Philosophy of Biology
A Contemporary Introduction
Alex Rosenberg and Daniel W. McShea
First published 2008
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
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collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
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business
© 2008 Alex Rosenberg and Daniel W. McShea
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
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trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rosenberg, Alexander, 1946-
Philosophy of biology : a contemporary introduction / Alex
Rosenberg and Daniel W. McShea.
p. cm. – (Routledge contemporary introductions to philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–415–31592–1 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN
0–415–31593–X (pbk. : alk. paper) – ISBN 0-203-92699-4 (ebook)
1. Biology—Philosophy. I. McShea, Daniel W. II. Title.
QH331.R667 2008
570.1—dc22
2007040181
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library.
ISBN 0-203-92699-4 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 10 0–415–31592–1 (hbk)
ISBN 10 0–415–31593–X (pbk)
ISBN 10: 0–203–92699–4 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–31592–0 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–31593–7 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–92699–4 (ebk)
For three friends and colleagues from whom
we have learned much biology and not a little
philosophy: Robert Brandon, Fred Nijhout, and
Louise Roth

Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction: what is the philosophy of biology? 1
Philosophy asks two kinds of questions 1
Philosophy and language 3
The agenda of the philosophy of biology 7
1 Darwin makes a science 12
Overview 12
Teleology and theology 12
Making teleology safe for science 16
Misunderstandings about natural selection 20
Is Darwinism the only game in town? 23
Philosophical problems of Darwinism 27
Summary 30
Suggestions for further reading 30
2 Biological laws and theories 32
Overview 32
Causation, laws, and biological generalizations 33
Could there be laws about species? 37
Models in biology: Mendel’s laws, Fisher’s sex ratios, the
Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium 46
Fitness and the principle of natural selection 51
Darwinism as a historical research program 58
Summary 62
Suggestions for further reading 63
3 Further problems of Darwinism: constraint,
drift, function 65
Overview 65
Adaptationism—for and against 66
Constraint and adaptation 70
viii Contents
What is genetic drift? 76
Central tendencies, subjective probabilities, and theism 82
Function, homology, and homoplasy 87
Summary 94
Suggestions for further reading 94
4 Reductionism about biology 96
Overview 96
Reduction, eliminativism, and physicalism 97
Arguments for reductionism 100
Antireductionist arguments from molecular biology 105
Reductionist rejoinders 111
Multiple realizability, supervenience, and antireductionism 114
Self-organization and reductionism 119
Natural selection and reduction 124
Summary 125
Suggestions for further reading 126
5 Complexity, directionality, and progress in
evolution 127
Overview 127
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What does theory predict? 132
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Trends versus tendencies 147
Complexity and intelligent design 152
Summary 154
Suggestions for further reading 155
6 Genes, groups, teleosemantics, and the major
transitions 157
Overview 157
Levels and units of selection 158
Kin selection and selection within and between groups 164
Macroevolution and the major trends: is group selection rare
or frequent? 169
Genocentrism and genetic information 173
Teleosemantics: philosophy of biology meets the philosophy
of psychology 179
Summary 184
Suggestions for further reading 185
Contents ix
7 Biology, human behavior, social science,
and moral philosophy 187
Overview 187
Functionalism in social science 188
Evolutionary game theory and Darwinian dynamics 191
Evolutionary psychology and the argument for innateness 198
What is wrong with genetic determinism? 207
Darwinism without genes 212
Darwinism and ethics 218
Summary 224
Suggestions for further reading 224
Bibliography 226
Index 232