Otsuka, Jun (2018) Ontology, Causality, and Methodology of Evolutionary Research Programs. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Scientific conflicts often stem from differences in the conceptual framework through which scientists view and understand their own field. In this chapter, I analyze the ontological and methodological assumptions of three traditions in evolutionary biology, namely, Ernst Mayr’s population thinking, the gene-centered view of the Modern Syn thesis (MS), and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES). Each of these frameworks presupposes a different account of "evolutionary causes," and this discrepancy prevents mutual understanding and objective evaluation in the recent contention surrounding the EES. From this perspective, the chapter characterizes the EES research program as an attempt to introduce causal structures beyond genes as additional units of evolution, and compares its research methodology and objectives with those of the traditional MS framework.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Otsuka, Jun junotk@gmail.com
Additional Information:	To appear in: Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology: Evolutionary Causation, T. Uller and K. Laland (eds), The MIT Press.
Keywords:	Modern Synthesis, Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, Population thinking, gene-centered view, causal models
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory
Depositing User:	Jun Otsuka
Date Deposited:	08 Jun 2018 17:39
Last Modified:	08 Jun 2018 17:39
Item ID:	14763
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory
Date:	2018
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14763

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