Kinds of Biological Individuals: Sortals, Projectibility, and Selection
| Autor: | James DiFrisco |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
History 05 social sciences Perspective (graphical) Face (sociological concept) 050905 science studies Epistemology 03 medical and health sciences Philosophy 030104 developmental biology History and Philosophy of Science Multiple realizability Selection (linguistics) Science studies 0509 other social sciences Psychology Explanatory power Social psychology Individuation Evolutionary theory |
| Zdroj: | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 70:845-875 |
| ISSN: | 1464-3537 0007-0882 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/bjps/axy006 |
| Popis: | Individuality is an important concept in biology, yet there are many non-equivalent criteria of individuality expressed in different kinds of biological individuals. This paper evaluates these different kinds in terms of their capacity to support explanatory generalizations over the systems they individuate. Viewing the problem of individuality from this perspective promotes a splitting strategy in which different kinds make different epistemic trade-offs which suit them for different explanatory roles. I argue that evolutionary individuals, interpreted as forming a functional kind, face difficulties of individuation and explanatory power that are mitigated by relying on more structurally based properties and non-evolutionary kinds. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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