Facts, conventions, and the levels of selection / Pierrick Bourrat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bourrat, Pierrick, author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in the philosophy of biology, 2515-1126.

Cambridge elements. Elements in the philosophy of biology, 2515-1126

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Natural selection--Philosophy.

Natural selection.

Realism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (90 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

Debates concerning the units and levels of selection have persisted for over fifty years. One major question in this literature is whether units and levels of selection are genuine, in the sense that they are objective features of the world, or merely reflect the interests and goals of an observer. Scientists and philosophers have proposed a range of answers to this question. This Element introduces this literature and proposes a novel contribution. It defends a realist stance and offers a way of delineating genuine levels of selection by invoking the notion of a functional unit.

Contents:

The problem of conventionalism Existing approaches to levels of selection and their limitations Functional units as units of selection Levels of selection and collective-level multiplication

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 31 Aug 2021).

ISBN:

1-108-88936-0

1-108-88581-0

OCLC:

1267433145