Shan, Yafeng (2024) The Debate over Proximate and Ultimate Causation in Biology. [Preprint]

Text Proximate and ultimate causation in biology preprint.pdf Download (537kB)

Abstract

It has been over 60 years since Ernst Mayr famously argued for the distinction between proximate and ultimate causes in biology. In the following decades, Mayr’s proximate-ultimate distinction was well received within evolutionary biology and widely regarded as a major contribution to the philosophy of biology. Despite its enormous influence, there has been a persistent controversy on the distinction. It has been argued that the distinction is untenable. In addition, there have been complaints about the pragmatic value of the distinction in biological research. Some even suggest that the distinction should better be abandoned. In contrast, Mayr had consistently maintained the significance of the proximate-ultimate distinction in biology. There are also other attempts to defend the distinction. The paper examines the debate by taking an integrated History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) approach and argues for a functional approach to causal concepts in scientific practice.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Shan, Yafeng hmyfshan@ust.hk 0000-0001-7736-1822
Keywords:	proximate cause; ultimate cause; causation; Mayr; Extended evolutionary synthesis; Modern synthesis
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Causation
Depositing User:	Dr Yafeng Shan
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2024 13:27
Last Modified:	19 Dec 2024 13:27
Item ID:	24425
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Causation
Date:	18 December 2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24425

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item