DiFrisco, James (2017) Kinds of Biological Individuals: Sortals, Projectibility, and Selection. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
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Abstract
Individuality is an important concept in biology, yet there are many non-equivalent criteria of individuality expressed in different kinds of biological individuals. This paper evaluates these different kinds in terms of their capacity to support explanatory generalizations over the systems they individuate. Viewing the problem of individuality from this perspective promotes a splitting strategy in which different kinds make different epistemic trade-offs which suit them for different explanatory roles. I argue that evolutionary individuals, interpreted as forming a functional kind, face difficulties of individuation and explanatory power that are mitigated by relying on more structurally based properties and non-evolutionary kinds.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Keywords: | biological individuality; natural kinds; projectibility; multiple realizability; evolutionary individual; organism | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. James DiFrisco | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 29 Aug 2017 14:39 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 29 Aug 2017 14:39 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 13376 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory |
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| Date: | 29 August 2017 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/13376 |
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