Download or read book Empiricism and Darwin s Science written by F. Wilson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I would like to record my thanks to Paul Thompson for useful conver sations over the years, and also to several generations of students who have helped me develop my ideas on biological theory and on Darwin. My wife has, as usual, been more than helpful; in particular she typed a good portion of the manuscript while I was on leave a few years ago, more now than I like to remember. My parents were both looking forward to holding a final copy of this book. I only regret that my mother did not live long enough to see its completion. I must also thank the publishers and their staff. They have been re markably patient about meeting deadlines - promises were repeatedly made and then, owing to family situations, had to be broken - and for this I am considerably in their debt. I would further like to thank the following authors and publishers for permission to use their work: R. C. Lewontin, The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change, Figure 1, p. 14; © 1964 Columbia University Press; reprinted here by kind permission of the author and publisher. F. Wilson, 'Goudge's Contribution to the Philosophy of Science', in L. W. Sumner, J. G. Slater, and F. Wilson (eds.), Pragmatism and Purpose: Essays in Honour of T. A. Goudge; © 1964 University of Toronto Press; reproduced here in part by kind permission of all the editors and the publisher.
Download or read book The Historical Conflict and Implication of Evolution and the Science on Contemporary Education written by Joshua Lawrence Langat and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2018 in the subject Biology - Evolution, , language: English, abstract: This chapter examines the background information to the study, the evolution of man - scientific evidence, the scientific reception of Darwinism (Darwin's Theory of Evolution - the premise Darwin's theory of evolution - natural selection Darwin's theory of evolution - slowly but surely, Darwin's theory of evolution - a theory in crisis). Furthermore, this work discusses the metaphysical concerns on theory of evolution, methodological objections of theory of evolution, reconsidering the nature of science from physics to evolutionary biology, from empiricism, toward a naturalistic model of scientific practice and conclusion of the study.
Download or read book Darwin s Backyard How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory written by James T. Costa and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If you’ve ever fantasized walking and conversing with the great scientist on the subjects that consumed him, and now wish to add the fullness of reality, read this book.” —Edward O. Wilson, author of Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life James T. Costa takes readers on a journey from Darwin’s childhood through his voyage on the HMS Beagle, where his ideas on evolution began, and on to Down House, his bustling home of forty years. Using his garden and greenhouse, the surrounding meadows and woodlands, and even the cellar and hallways of his home-turned-field-station, Darwin tested ideas of his landmark theory of evolution through an astonishing array of experiments without using specialized equipment. From those results, he plumbed the laws of nature and drew evidence for the revolutionary arguments of On the Origin of Species and other watershed works. This unique perspective introduces us to an enthusiastic correspondent, collaborator, and, especially, an incorrigible observer and experimenter. And it includes eighteen experiments for home, school, or garden. Finalist for the 2018 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books.
Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.
Download or read book Darwinian Reductionism written by Alexander Rosenberg and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, scientists working in molecular biology embraced reductionism—the theory that all complex systems can be understood in terms of their components. Reductionism, however, has been widely resisted by both nonmolecular biologists and scientists working outside the field of biology. Many of these antireductionists, nevertheless, embrace the notion of physicalism—the idea that all biological processes are physical in nature. How, Alexander Rosenberg asks, can these self-proclaimed physicalists also be antireductionists? With clarity and wit, Darwinian Reductionism navigates this difficult and seemingly intractable dualism with convincing analysis and timely evidence. In the spirit of the few distinguished biologists who accept reductionism—E. O. Wilson, Francis Crick, Jacques Monod, James Watson, and Richard Dawkins—Rosenberg provides a philosophically sophisticated defense of reductionism and applies it to molecular developmental biology and the theory of natural selection, ultimately proving that the physicalist must also be a reductionist.
Download or read book Evolution by Natural Selection written by Michaelis Michael and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2015-11-18 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A persistent argument among evolutionary biologists and philosophers revolves around the nature of natural selection. Evolution by Natural Selection: Confidence, Evidence and the Gap explores this argument by using a theory of persistence as an intentional foil to examine ways in which similar theories can be misunderstood. It discusses Charles Dar
Download or read book The Influence of Darwin on Philosophy written by John Dewey and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enth. u.a.: The influence of Darwin on philosophy.
Download or read book Intelligent Evolution written by Michael A. Flannery and published by Erasmus Press. This book was released on 2020-08-12 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), co-discoverer of natural selection, was second only to Charles Darwin as the 19th century’s most noted English naturalist. Yet his belief in spiritualism caused him to be ridiculed and dismissed by many, leaving him a comparatively obscure and misunderstood figure. In this volume Wallace is finally allowed to speak in his own defense through his grand evolutionary synthesis The World of Life published over a century ago in 1910. More than just a reprinting of a near-forgotten work, Michael A. Flannery places Wallace in historical context and includes the very latest historiography relating to both Darwin and Wallace in his detailed introduction. Flannery exposes Charles Darwin’s now-famous theory of evolution as little more than a naturalistic cover for an extreme philosophical materialism borrowed as a youth from Edinburgh radicals. This is juxtaposed by his sympathetic account of what he calls Wallace’s intelligent evolution, a thoroughly teleological alternative to Darwin’s stochastic processes. Though based upon very different formulations of natural selection, the Wallace/Darwin dispute as presented by Flannery shows a metaphysical clash of worldviews coextensive with modern evolutionary theory itself—design and purpose versus randomness and chance. This book is for anyone seeking to understand the historical and philosophical roots of a controversy that still rages today. This book contains an abridgement of Alfred Russel Wallace's The World of Life and Reverend John Magens Mello's essay, “The Mystery of Life and Mind.” Michael A. Flannery is Professor Emeritus, UAB Libraries, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Professor Flannery has published extensively in medical history and bioethics, winning the prestigious Edward Kremers Award in 2001 for distinguished writing by an American from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, the Murray Gottlieb Prize in history by the Medical Library Association in 2002, and the 2006 Publishers Award of the Archivists and Librarians in the History of Health Sciences. This is his tenth book.
Download or read book The Evolutionary Philosophy of Chauncey Wright written by Chauncey Wright and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2000-10-15 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Wright volumes look like an excellent contribution. It makes me realize again how sad it is that he did not leave more than he did. He was such a seminal figure and contributed so much by way of his reflections on science and evolution in particular as well as the role he played in the origins of pragmatism. It will be good to have the essays in one place and to see what is in the letters. Volume 3 also looks good, as it has the best interpreters and critics of the period covered.' --Professor Barbara MacKinnon In an era when American higher education was dominated by theologians and idealists, Chauncey Wright (1830-75) pioneered the cause of natural evolution and scientific empiricism. C. S. Peirce admired Wright's sheer intellect as superior to his own and to that of William James. Charles Darwin respected a mind 'so clear' that he asked him to develop a theory of the genesis of intelligence. Wright's response to this and other challenges solidifies his legacy as the first American philosopher of science. To understand the universe and our place in it, he argues, we must appeal not to theology or 'cosmic' philosophy but to scientific laws of nature. Consciousness is not an occult power, but a tool organisms utilize for adaptability and survival. Philosophy is suited to the moral and aesthetic realm, where Wright anticipates pragmatism in holding that values develop in effective social practices. Regrettably, Wright's brilliance was not vested in his temperament, and his early death at age forty-five leaves a scattering of suggestive essays but no developed system. Still, his ideas have a strikingly modern tone that establishes their relevance to later developments in evolutionary theory, pragmatism, and the philosophy of science. This 3-volume collection gathers Wright's Philosophical Discussions and Letters, each featuring a biographical sketch, with a third, reset volume of reviews and tributes, including contributions by John Fiske, C. S. Peirce, Joseph Blau and Gail Kennedy. The set is edited and introduced by Wright scholar Frank X. Ryan, with an additional introduction by prominent Wright expert Edward H. Madden. This significant collection: --provides a historical record of the development of scientific thought in America --recovers the central figure in the path from Darwin to American Evolutionism --identifies an important influence upon the foundations of pragmatism --examines a source of contemporary issues in the philosophy of cognition --foreshadows the development of utilitarian, naturalistic and pragmatic ethics in America
Download or read book The Scientific Method written by Henry M. Cowles and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The scientific method is just over a hundred years old. From debates about the evolution of the human mind to the rise of instrumental reasoning, Henry M. Cowles shows how the idea of a single "scientific method" emerged from a turn inward by psychologists that produced powerful epistemological and historical effects that are still with us today.
Download or read book Darwin s Gift to Science and Religion written by Francisco J. Ayala and published by Joseph Henry Press. This book was released on 2007-04-23 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the publication in 1859 of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation for nature's diversity. This was to be his gift to science and society; at last, we had an explanation for how life came to be on Earth. Scientists agree that the evolutionary origin of animals and plants is a scientific conclusion beyond reasonable doubt. They place it beside such established concepts as the roundness of the earth, its revolution around the sun, and the molecular composition of matter. That evolution has occurred, in other words, is a fact. Yet as we approach the bicentennial celebration of Darwin's birth, the world finds itself divided over the truth of evolutionary theory. Consistently endorsed as "good science" by experts and overwhelmingly accepted as fact by the scientific community, it is not always accepted by the public, and our schools continue to be battlegrounds for this conflict. From the Tennessee trial of a biology teacher who dared to teach Darwin's theory to his students in 1925 to Tammy Kitzmiller's 2005 battle to keep intelligent design out of the Dover district schools in Pennsylvania, it's clear that we need to cut through the propaganda to quell the cacophony of raging debate. With the publication of Darwin's Gift, a voice at once fresh and familiar brings a rational, measured perspective to the science of evolution. An acclaimed evolutionary biologist with a background in theology, Francisco Ayala offers clear explanations of the science, reviews the history that led us to ratify Darwin's theories, and ultimately provides a clear path for a confused and conflicted public.
Download or read book Darwin s Legacy written by John Dupré and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-11-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Darwin transformed our understanding of the universe and our place in it with his development of the theory of evolution. 150 years later, we are still puzzling over the implications. John Dupré presents a lucid, witty introduction to evolution and what it means for our view of humanity, the natural world, and religion. He explains the right and the wrong ways to understand evolution: in the latter category fall most of the claims of evolutionary psychology, of which Dupré gives a withering critique. He shows why the theory of evolution is one of the most important scientific ideas of all time, but makes clear that it can't explain everything - contrary to widespread popular belief, it has very little to tell us about the details of human nature and human behaviour, such as language, culture, and sexuality. Darwin's Legacy clears a path through the confusion and controversy surrounding evolution; anyone who is interested in understanding what the theory of evolution can and can't do will find this a compelling and enjoyable introduction.
Download or read book Darwinism and Pragmatism written by Lucas McGranahan and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-02-24 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on the work of William James (1842–1910), this study looks at Darwinian evolution within the context of a person-oriented philosophy. McGranahan argues for James as an innovator of evolutionary concepts and an early proponent of non-reductionist Darwinism.
Download or read book Alfred Russel Wallace s Theory of Intelligent Evolution written by Michael A. Flannery and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), co-discoverer of natural selection, was second only to Charles Darwin as the 19th century's most noted English naturalist. Yet his belief in spiritualism caused him to be ridiculed and dismissed by many. Though based upon very different formulations of natural selection, the Wallace/Darwin dispute as presented by Flannery shows a metaphysical clash of worldviews coextensive with modern evolutionary theory itself.
Download or read book Darwin and the General Reader written by Alvar Ellegård and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1990-05-15 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on his investigation of over one hundred mid-Victorian British newspapers and periodicals, Alvar Ellegård describes and analyzes the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution during the first dozen years after the publication of the Origin of Species. Although Darwin's book caused an immediate stir in literary and scientific periodicals, the popular press largely ignored it. Only after the work's implications for theology and the nature of man became evident did general publications feel compelled to react; each social group responded according to his own political and religious prejudices. Ellegård charts the impact of this revolution in science, maintaining that although the idea of evolution was generally accepted, Darwin's primary contribution, the theory of natural selection, was either ignored or rejected among the public.
Download or read book The Origin Then and Now written by David N. Reznick and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-17 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An accessible modern guide to Darwin's masterwork Charles Darwin's Origin of Species is one of the most widely cited books in modern science. Yet tackling this classic can be daunting for students and general readers alike because of Darwin's Victorian prose and the complexity and scope of his ideas. The "Origin" Then and Now is a unique guide to Darwin's masterwork, making it accessible to a much wider audience by deconstructing and reorganizing the Origin in a way that allows for a clear explanation of its key concepts. The Origin is examined within the historical context in which it was written, and modern examples are used to reveal how this work remains a relevant and living document for today. In this eye-opening and accessible guide, David Reznick shows how many peculiarities of the Origin can be explained by the state of science in 1859, helping readers to grasp the true scope of Darwin's departure from the mainstream thinking of his day. He reconciles Darwin's concept of species with our current concept, which has advanced in important ways since Darwin first wrote the Origin, and he demonstrates why Darwin's theory unifies the biological sciences under a single conceptual framework much as Newton did for physics. Drawing liberally from the facsimile of the first edition of the Origin, Reznick enables readers to follow along as Darwin develops his ideas. The "Origin" Then and Now is an indispensable primer for anyone seeking to understand Darwin's Origin of Species and the ways it has shaped the modern study of evolution.
Download or read book Living with Darwin written by Philip Kitcher and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2007-01-05 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Darwin has been at the center of white-hot public debate for more than a century. In Living With Darwin, Philip Kitcher peers into the flames swirling around Darwin's theory, sifting through the scientific evidence for evolution, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design, and revealing why evolution has been the object of such vehement attack.Kitcher ranges back in time to provide valuable perspective on the present controversy, describing the many puzzling issues that blocked evolution's acceptance in the early years, and explaining how scientific research eventually found the answers to these conundrums. Interestingly, Kitcher shows that many of these early questions have been resurrected in recent years by proponents of Intelligent Design. In fact, Darwin himself considered the issue of intelligent design, and amassed a mountain of evidence that effectively refuted the idea. Kitcher argues that the problem with Intelligent Design isn't that it's "not science," as many critics say, but that it's "dead science," raising questions long resolved by scientists. But after providing a convincing case for evolution, Kitcher points out that it is also important to recognize the cost of Darwin's success--the price of "living with Darwin." Darwinism has a profound effect on our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe, on our religious beliefs and aspirations. It is in truth the focal point of a larger clash between religious faith and the discoveries of modern science. Unless we can resolve this larger issue, the war over evolution will go on.Evolution is a dangerous idea. In this balanced and sympathetic volume, Philip Kitcher illuminates this idea while suggesting ways to defuse the danger, suggestions that embrace both the religious impulse and the force of scientific evidence.
