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2002
The title \"What Functions Explain\" reflects the way in which Peter McLaughlin addresses the topic of functional explanation. The aim of his discussion is not to assess which philosophical account of functional explanation is the right one or how the concept of functional explanation should best...
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2002
Introduction: Systematics has always been an important topic for philosophy of biology. Nonetheless, philosophical books dealing with this subject alone are very rare. Marc Ereshefsky, known for his contributions in the philosophy of taxonomy, now gives an encompassing treatment of systematics,...
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2005
Introduction: Neo-Darwinism coined a particular picture of evolution: the explanation of adaptation and speciation as the central goals of evolutionary theory, and natural selection as the only directing cause in evolution. Recently, evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) became an...
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Roger Saylor and Michel Ferrari (eds): Epistemology and Science Education: Understanding the Evolution vsntelligent Design Controversy
Download2012
Introduction: For decades the creationist movement has threatened the teaching of evolution in the United States, even in public schools. Similar worrisome trends have started in other Western countries. Beyond the major importance of reacting to attempts to undermine the proper teaching of...
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Review: The Mind's Arrows: Bayes Nets and Graphical Causal Models in Psychology by Clark Glymour
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Introduction: Amongst people working in statistics, computer science, and philosophy, Bayes nets are a well- known tool to model causal structures. Besides other things this approach provides ways for obtaining causal relationships out of statistical data. The idea is that existing (conditional)...
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Review: From Embryology to Evo-Devo: A History of Developmental Evolution by Manfred Daubichler; Jane Maienschein
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Introduction: The biological process of development has always served as a focal point for empirical research and conceptual reflection on organisms and life in general. Many have drawn connections between development (ontogeny) and the history of life (phylogeny). The most recent manifestation...
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2006
Introduction: Traditionally, studies in the philosophy of biology have been strongly centered on evolutionary biology and systematics. To be sure, during the last four decades the field of molecular biology has been subject to substantial philosophical discussion as well. Still, discussions of...
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Being Reduced: New Essays on Reduction, Explanation, and Causation – Jakob Hohwy and Jesper Kallestrup (edsT
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Introduction: Reduction remains a live philosophical topic, encompassing metaphysical issues about the natural world, as well as epistemological and methodological questions about science. Germane to various philosophical notions, such as ontological determination, causation, explanation,...
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Accounting for vertebrate limbs: from Owen’s homology to novelty in evo-devo [Review of the book Richard Owen’s On the Nature of Limbs: A Discourse, by ed. R. Amundson]
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Introduction: This article reviews the recent reissuing of Richard Owen’s On the Nature of Limbs and its three novel, introductory essays. These essays make Owen’s 1849 text very accessible by discussing the historical context of his work and explaining how Owen’s ideas relate to his larger...
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2002
Introduction: Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould are both dedicated Darwinians. Despite this, for the last few decades these two scientists have argued fiercely about how evolutionary history and mechanisms are to be viewed. The debate has been fought out before a general, rather than...