Evolution and the Levels of Selection (Paperback)

Samir Okasha

ISBN 10: 0199556717 / ISBN 13: 9780199556717

Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008

About this Item

Paperback. Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? Samir Okasha provides a comprehensive analysis of the debate in evolutionary biology over the levels of selection, focusing on conceptual, philosophical and foundational questions. A systematic framework is developed for thinking about natural selection acting at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy; the framework is then used to help resolve outstandingissues. Considerable attention is paid to the concept of causality as it relates to the levels of selection, in particular the idea that natural selection at one hierarchical level can have effects that'filter' up or down to other levels. Unlike previous work in this area by philosophers of science, full account is taken of the recent biological literature on 'major evolutionary transitions' and the recent resurgence of interest in multi-level selection theory among biologists. Other biological topics discussed include Price's equation, kin and group selection, the gene's eye view, evolutionary game theory, outlaws and selfish genetic elements, species and clade selection, and the evolutionof individuality. Philosophical topics discussed include reductionism and holism, causation and correlation, the nature of hierarchical organization, and realism and pluralism. Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? The question of levels of selection is central to evolutionary theory and to the philosophy of biology. Samir Okasha's comprehensive analysis gives a clear account of the philosophical issues at stake in the current debate. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780199556717

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Evolution and the Levels of Selection (Paperback)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199556717
• ISBN 13: 9780199556717
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? The question of levels of selection - on which biologists and philosophers have long disagreed - is central to evolutionary theory and to the philosophy of biology. Samir Okasha's comprehensive analysis gives a clear account of the philosophical issues at stake in the current debate.

About the Author

Samir Okasha is Professor of Philosophy at Bristol University. Before that he taught at the University of York for 3 years, and was a Jacobsen Research Fellow at the London School of Economics for 2 years. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Univeristy of Mexico for 1 year and received his doctorate in 1998 from the University of Oxford.