Facts, conventions, and the levels of selection

    Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review

    Abstract

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationCambridge, UK
    PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP)
    Number of pages90
    ISBN (Electronic)9781108794589
    ISBN (Print)9781009098298
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2021

    Publication series

    NameCambridge Elements: the Philosophy of Biology
    PublisherCambridge University Press
    ISSN (Print)2515-1118
    ISSN (Electronic)2515-1126

    Keywords

    • natural selection
    • Price equation
    • conventionalism
    • levels of selection
    • units of selection

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