Millstein, Roberta L. (2000) Is the Evolutionary Process Deterministic or Indeterministic? An Argument for Agnosticism. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

Recently, philosophers of biology have debated the status of the evolutionary process: is it deterministic or indeterministic? I argue that there is insufficient reason to favor one side of the debate over the other, and that a more philosophically defensible position argues neither for the determinacy nor for the indeterminacy of the evolutionary process. In other words, I maintain that the appropriate stand to take towards the question of the determinism of the evolutionary process is agnosticism. I then suggest that an examination of the phenomenon of developmental noise might yield a solution to the problem.

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Item Type:	Other
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Millstein, Roberta L.
Additional Information:	Presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association Vancouver, Canada, November 2000
Keywords:	determinism, indeterminism, evolution, probability
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Depositing User:	Dr. Roberta L. Millstein
Date Deposited:	01 Apr 2009
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:17
Item ID:	4544
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Date:	2000
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/4544

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