The Philosophical Basis of Evolution

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution PDF Author: James Croll
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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The Philosophical Basis of Evolution

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution PDF Author: James Croll
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description


Philosophical Basis of Evolution

Philosophical Basis of Evolution PDF Author: James Croll
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780243683833
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Philosophical Basis of Evolution

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution PDF Author: James Croll
Publisher: Theclassics.Us
ISBN: 9781230301860
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 edition. Excerpt: ... 127 CHAPTER XIV NATURAL SELECTION CANNOT EXPLAIN PRODUCTION This figurative expression, Natural Selection, is a somewhat unfortunate one, for it is apt to mislead. It has a tendency to convey the idea, and doeB so to many minds, that nature makes a selection. Nature does no such thing. Natural Selection is simply the survival of the fittest. There is nothing in the nature of selection but this. "The survival of the fittest is consequently a much better expression, but it still leaves in the background a something, the want of which is also apt to mislead. Natural Selection is better expressed by saying that it is the survival of the '" fittest resulting from the destruction of the unfit. The element left out is as important a part of the process r as the survival of the fittest, for it is by means of the/ destruction of the unfit that the fittest are preserve It follows that if Natural Selection is simply the survival of the fit from the destruction of the unfit, it is obvious that it can produce nothing. The simple destruction of that which exists would not produce that which does not exist. The conception is absurd. Natural Selection is not an efficient cause; it has no formative power, no positive efficiency. If a thing already exists, it will tend to preserve and perfect it, but it cannot possibly produce it. That things can be produced by natural selection is a view held by Darwinians in general. Darwin himself not only held that Natural Selection might produce an organ, but he endeavoured to show how one so wonderful as the eye, with all its marvellous adaptations, could be formed by this means. There is certainly in all this some fundamental misapprehension. Natural Selection may be a co/t-l dition in the formation of an organ, ...

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution PDF Author: James Croll
Publisher: Legare Street Press
ISBN: 9781016380010
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Philosophy of Human Evolution

The Philosophy of Human Evolution PDF Author: Michael Ruse
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521117933
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Provides a unique discussion of human evolution from a philosophical viewpoint, covering such issues as religion, race and gender.

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution - Scholar's Choice Edition

The Philosophical Basis of Evolution - Scholar's Choice Edition PDF Author: James Croll
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781297154140
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Law of Evolution

The Law of Evolution PDF Author: John Scouller
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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The Philosophy of Social Evolution

The Philosophy of Social Evolution PDF Author: Jonathan Birch
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191047368
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
From mitochondria to meerkats, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of social behaviour. In the early 1960s Bill Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves. He introduced three key innovations - now known as Hamilton's rule, kin selection, and inclusive fitness - which have been enormously influential, but which remain the subject of fierce controversy. Hamilton's pioneering work kick-started a research program now known as social evolution theory. This is a book about the philosophical foundations and future prospects of that program. Part I, "Foundations", is a careful exposition and defence of Hamilton's ideas, with a few modifications along the way. In Part II, "Extensions", Jonathan Birch shows how these ideas can be applied to phenomena including cooperation in micro-organisms, cooperation among the cells of a multicellular organism, and culturally evolved cooperation in the earliest human societies. Birch argues that real progress can be made in understanding microbial evolution, evolutionary transitions, and human evolution by viewing them through the lens of social evolution theory, provided the theory is interpreted with care and adapted where necessary. The Philosophy of Social Evolution places social evolution theory on a firm philosophical footing and sets out exciting new directions for further work.

The Evolution of Morality

The Evolution of Morality PDF Author: Richard Joyce
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262263254
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Moral thinking pervades our practical lives, but where did this way of thinking come from, and what purpose does it serve? Is it to be explained by environmental pressures on our ancestors a million years ago, or is it a cultural invention of more recent origin? In The Evolution of Morality, Richard Joyce takes up these controversial questions, finding that the evidence supports an innate basis to human morality. As a moral philosopher, Joyce is interested in whether any implications follow from this hypothesis. Might the fact that the human brain has been biologically prepared by natural selection to engage in moral judgment serve in some sense to vindicate this way of thinking—staving off the threat of moral skepticism, or even undergirding some version of moral realism? Or if morality has an adaptive explanation in genetic terms—if it is, as Joyce writes, "just something that helped our ancestors make more babies"—might such an explanation actually undermine morality's central role in our lives? He carefully examines both the evolutionary "vindication of morality" and the evolutionary "debunking of morality," considering the skeptical view more seriously than have others who have treated the subject. Interdisciplinary and combining the latest results from the empirical sciences with philosophical discussion, The Evolution of Morality is one of the few books in this area written from the perspective of moral philosophy. Concise and without technical jargon, the arguments are rigorous but accessible to readers from different academic backgrounds. Joyce discusses complex issues in plain language while advocating subtle and sometimes radical views. The Evolution of Morality lays the philosophical foundations for further research into the biological understanding of human morality.

Evolution's First Philosopher

Evolution's First Philosopher PDF Author: Jerome A. Popp
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 079148078X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
John Dewey was the first philosopher to recognize that Darwin's thesis about natural selection not only required us to change how we think about ourselves and the life forms around us, but also required a markedly different approach to philosophy. Evolution's First Philosopher shows how Dewey's arguments arose from his recognition of the continuity of natural selection and mindedness, from which he developed his concept of growth. Growth, for Dewey, has no end beyond itself and forms the basis of a naturalized theory of ethics. While other philosophers gave some attention to evolutionary theory, it was Dewey alone who saw that Darwinism provides the basis for a naturalized theory of meaning. This, in turn, portends a new account of knowledge, ethics, and democracy. To clarify evolution's conception of natural selection, Jerome A. Popp looks at brain science and examines the relationship between the genome and experience in terms of the contemporary concepts of preparedness and plasticity. This research shows how comprehensive and penetrating Dewey's thought was in terms of further consequences for the philosophical method entailed by Darwin's thesis. Dewey's foresight is further legitimated when Popp places his work within the context of the current thought of Daniel Dennett.