Philosophy of Biology

The philosophy of biology has considerable implications for our understanding of the kind of beings we are. Perhaps because of this, it has been an area of rapid development and considerable controversy in recent years. This authoritative textbook offers a sophisticated but accessible guide to the traditional themes and the recent debates, assuming no prior training in philosophy or biology on the part of the reader. The central subject of the philosophy of biology is evolutionary theory. Professor Sober gives a clear account of the structure and explanatory significance of the theory, and considers the evidence for it; his discussion ranges over creationism, sociobiology, teleology, and the issue of nature versus nurture.

Introduction1. What is Evolutionary Theory?2. Creationism3. Fitness4. The Units of Selection Problem5. Adaptationism6. Systematics7. Sociobiology and the Extension of Evolutionary Theory

'This is a very useful volume with generally clear and succinct discussions of what the author sees as the dominant conceptual issues in biology.'Network, December 1993, No. 53 |d 06/05/1994