Is indeterminism the source of the statistical character of evolutionary theory?

被引:36
作者
Graves, L
Horan, BL
Rosenberg, A
机构
[1] Univ Georgia, Honors Program, Dept Philosophy, Athens, GA 30602 USA
[2] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Philosophy, Madison, WI 53706 USA
[3] Georgia So Univ, Philosophy Program, Statesboro, GA 30460 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1086/392680
中图分类号
N09 [自然科学史]; B [哲学、宗教];
学科分类号
01 ; 0101 ; 010108 ; 060207 ; 060305 ; 0712 ;
摘要
We argue that Brandon and Carson's (1996) "The Indeterministic Character of Evolutionary Theory" fails to identify any indeterminism that would require evolutionary theory to be a statistical or probabilistic theory. Specifically, we argue that (1) their demonstration of a mechanism by which quantum indeterminism might "percolate up" to the biological level is irrelevant; (2) their argument that natural selection is indeterministic because it is inextricably connected with drift fails to join the issue with determinism; and (3) their view that experimental methodology in botany assumes indeterminism is both false and incompatible with the commitment to discoverable causal mechanisms underlying biological processes. We remain convinced that the probabilism of the theory of evolution is epistemically, not ontologically, motivated.
引用
收藏
页码:140 / 157
页数:18
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