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It's Okay to Call Genetic Drift a “Force”

Pence, Charles H. (2012) It's Okay to Call Genetic Drift a “Force”. In: [2012] Philosophy of Science Assoc. 23rd Biennial Mtg (San Diego, CA) > PSA 2012 Contributed Papers.

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    Abstract

    One hotly debated philosophical question in the analysis of evolutionary theory concerns whether or not evolution and the various factors which constitute it (selection, drift, mutation, and so on) may profitably be considered to be “forces” in the traditional, Newtonian sense. Several compelling arguments assert that the force picture is incoherent, due to the peculiar nature of genetic drift. I consider two of those arguments here – that drift lacks a predictable direction, and that drift is constitutive of evolutionary systems – and show that they both fail to demonstrate that a view of genetic drift as a force is untenable.

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    Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
    Keywords: evolutionary theory, natural selection, genetic drift, force, causation
    Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory
    General Issues > Causation
    Conferences and Volumes: [2012] Philosophy of Science Assoc. 23rd Biennial Mtg (San Diego, CA) > PSA 2012 Contributed Papers
    Depositing User: Charles H. Pence
    Date Deposited: 26 Jul 2012 00:21
    Last Modified: 26 Jul 2012 00:21
    Item ID: 9256
    URI: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9256

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