Agents and Goals in Evolution av Samir (Professor of Philosophy of Science Professor of Philosophy of Science University of Bristol) Okasha

369,-

Kjøp

Samir Okasha approaches evolutionary biology from a philosophical perspective in Agents and Goals in Evolution, analysing a mode of thinking in biology called agential thinking. He considers how the paradigm case involves treating an evolved organism as if it were an agent pursuing a goal, such as survival or reproduction, and seeing its phenotypic traits as strategies for achieving that goal or furthering its biological interests. As agential thinking deliberately transposes a set of concepts¿goals, interests, strategies¿from rational human agents and to the biological world more generally, Okasha''s enquiry firstly looks at the justification for this: is it mere anthropomorphism, or does it play a genuine intellectual role in the science? From this central question, key points are considered such as: how do we identify the ''goal'' that evolved organisms will behave as if they are trying to achieve? Can agential thinkingever be applied to groups rather than to individual organisms? A