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The Heuristic Role of Sewall Wright's 1932 Adaptive Landscape Diagram

Skipper, Robert (2004) The Heuristic Role of Sewall Wright's 1932 Adaptive Landscape Diagram. In: [2002] Philosophy of Science Assoc. 18th Biennial Mtg - PSA 2002: Contributed Papers (Milwaukee, WI; 2002) > PSA 2002 Symposia. (In Press)

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    Abstract

    Sewall Wright’s adaptive landscape is the most influential heuristic in evolutionary biology. Wright’s biographer, Provine, criticized Wright’s adaptive landscape, claiming that its heuristic value is dubious because of deep flaws. Ruse has defended Wright against Provine. Ruse claims Provine has not shown Wright’s use of the landscape is flawed, and that, even if it were, it is heuristically valuable. I argue that both Provine’s and Ruse’s analyses of the adaptive landscape are defective and suggest a more adequate understanding of it.

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    Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
    Keywords: Wright, Provine, Ruse, adaptive landscape, heuristic, shifting balance theory
    Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory
    Conferences and Volumes: [2002] Philosophy of Science Assoc. 18th Biennial Mtg - PSA 2002: Contributed Papers (Milwaukee, WI; 2002) > PSA 2002 Symposia
    Depositing User: Robert Skipper
    Date Deposited: 10 May 2004
    Last Modified: 07 Oct 2010 11:12
    Item ID: 1746
    Public Domain: No
    URI: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/1746

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