What Makes Biology Unique?: Considerations on the Autonomy of a Scientific Discipline (Law in Context S.)

This collection of revised and new essays argues that biology is an autonomous science rather than a branch of the physical sciences. Ernst Mayr, widely considered the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the 20th century, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the conditions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major developments in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Ernst Mayr, commonly referred to as the "Darwin of the 20th century" and listed as one of the top 100 scientists of all-time, is Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. What Makes Biology Unique is the 25th book he has written during his long and prolific career. His recent books include This is Biology: The Science of the Living World (Belknap Press, 1997) and What Evolution Is (Basic Books, 2002). ISBN-13: 9780521841146 0521841143 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction 16 The object of each chapter 19 Chapter 1 – Science and sciences 19 Chapter 2 – The autonomy of biology 19 Chapter 3 – Teleology 20 Chapter 4 – Analysis or reductionism? 20 Chapter 5 – Darwin's influence on modern thought 21 Chapter 6 – Darwin's five theories of evolution 21 Chapter 7 – Maturation of Darwinism 21 Chapter 8 – Selection 22 Chapter 9 – Do Thomas Kuhn's scientific revolutions take place? 22 Chapter 10 – Another look at the species problem 23 Chapter 11 – The origin of humans 23 Chapter 12 – Are we alone in this vast universe? 24 LITERATURE CITED 24 1 Science and Sciences 26 Physicalism 28 A proliferation of sciences 31 Why is biology different? 32 LITERATURE CITED 33 2 The Autonomy of Biology 36 The refutation of certain erroneous basic assumptions 37 Vitalism 37 Teleology 38 What is biology? 39 The emergence of modern biology 40 Physicalist ideas not applicable to biology 41 Autonomous characteristics of biology 43 The complexity of living systems 44 Evolutionary biology is a historical science 47 Chance 48 Holistic thinking 49 Limitation to the mesocosmos 50 Can an autonomous biology be unified with physics? 51 The importance of biology for the understanding of humans 52 LITERATURE CITED 53 3 Teleology 54 Three concepts of the world 55 Categories of teleology 63 Teleomatic processes 64 Teleonomic processes 66 Purposive behavior in thinking organisms 72 Adapted features 72 Cosmic teleology 74 The current status of teleology 76 Teleology and evolution 77 LITERATURE CITED 78 4 Analysis or Reductionism? 82 Kinds of reduction 85 Analysis 86 Explanatory reduction 87 Emergence 89 Theory reduction 92 Consequences of the failure of reductionism 94 Reduction and philosophy 95 LITERATURE CITED 95 5 Darwin’s Influence on Modern Thought 98 The first Darwinian revolution 99 Darwin's contributions to a new Zeitgeist 100 Secular science 101 Common descent and humans' position 102 Population thinking 103 The genetic program 104 Finalism 105 The role of chance 106 Laws 107 Darwin's method 108 Time 109 Summary 110 LITERATURE CITED 111 6 Darwin’s Five Theories of Evolution 112 Evolution as such 115 Common descent 115 Gradualism versus saltationism 118 The multiplication of species 120 Natural selection 124 The varying fates of Darwin's five theories 127 LITERATURE CITED 129 7 Maturation of Darwinism 132 Stages in the maturation of Darwinism 133 1859–1882 133 1883–1899 133 1900–1909 134 1910–1932 135 The explanation of the origin of biodiversity 136 1937–1947 137 1950–2000 141 Genomics 141 The robustness of the current Darwinian paradigm 143 The Darwinism of the present 144 LITERATURE CITED 145 8 Selection 148 What is selection? 149 Natural selection, a two-step process 151 Selection for reproductive success 153 Levels of selection 154 The objects of selection 155 The gene 156 The gamete 157 The individual organism 157 The object of selection, individual or gene? 158 Kin selection 160 Group selection 160 Selection at higher levels 164 Terms for the objects of selection 166 Unit of selection 166 Replicator 166 Vehicle 167 Interactor 168 Target of selection 168 Meme 168 Selection of and selection for 169 The current status of natural selection 169 LITERATURE CITED 170 9 Do Thomas Kuhn’s Scientific Revolutions Take Place? 174 LITERATURE CITED 183 10 Another Look at the Species Problem 186 What is the nature of the problem? 188 Are there different kinds of species taxa? 188 Species concepts 189 The typological species concept 189 The biological species concept 192 The ecological species concept 200 LITERATURE CITED 205 11 The Origin of Humans 210 An age of typology 211 The classical reconstruction 211 The step from Australopithecus to Homo 213 Changes in climate and vegetation 214 How could australopithecines become adapted to the bush savanna? 214 Shifts in the diet 215 Increase in brain size 216 Changes in the newborn 217 Extension of maternal care 217 The geography of hominid evolution 218 The incompleteness of fossils 218 The next steps 219 Appendix 221 LITERATURE CITED 222 12 Are We Alone in This Vast Universe? 224 What is the reason for the longevity of the argument between the Setians and their opponents? 225 What is the probability of life elsewhere in the universe? 225 What is the chance of communicating with extraterrestrials? 228 Conclusion 231 LITERATURE CITED 231 RECENT BOOKS ON EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE 231 Glossary 234 Index 242 This book, a collection of essays written by the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the twentieth century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Natural selection is a separate idea from common descent, and from geographic speciation, and so on. A number of the perennial Darwinian controversies may well have been caused by the confounding of the five separate theories into a single composite. Those interested in evolutionary theory, or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology. A collection of revised, collected, and new essays written by Ernst Mayr in time for his 100th birthday. Mayr, the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the past century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Notably, he explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. He points out that a number of the perennial Darwinian controversies may well have been caused by the confounding of the five separate theories into a single composite. Those interested in evolutionary theory, or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology. This collection of revised and new essays argues that biology is an autonomous science rather than a branch of the physical sciences. Ernst Mayr, widely considered the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the 20th century, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the conditions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major developments in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Ernst Mayr, commonly referred to as the "Darwin of the 20th century" and listed as one of the top 100 scientists of all-time, is Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. What Makes Biology Unique is the 25th book he has written during his long and prolific career. "This new book, a collection of some revised and some new essays written in time for his 100th birthday by the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the past century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Those interested in evolutionary theory or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology."--Jacket This book is a collection of revised and new essays from the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the past century, written in time for his 100th birthday. Here Ernst Mayr explores biology as an autonomous science, the history of evolutionary thought, the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory