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Adaptationism and Optimality
Hardback
Main Details
Title |
Adaptationism and Optimality
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Authors and Contributors |
Edited by Steven Hecht Orzack
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Edited by Elliott Sober
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Series | Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology |
Physical Properties |
Format:Hardback | Pages:420 | Dimensions(mm): Height 236,Width 156 |
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Category/Genre | Philosophy of science |
ISBN/Barcode |
9780521591669
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Classifications | Dewey:578.4 |
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Audience | Professional & Vocational | |
Illustrations |
6 Tables, unspecified; 2 Halftones, unspecified; 27 Line drawings, unspecified
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Publishing Details |
Publisher |
Cambridge University Press
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Imprint |
Cambridge University Press
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Publication Date |
11 June 2001 |
Publication Country |
United Kingdom
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Description
The theory of adaptationism argues that natural selection contains sufficient explanatory power in itself to account for all evolution. However, there are differing views about the efficiency, or optimality, of the adaptation model of explanation. If the adaptationism theory is applied, are energy and resources being used as optimally as possible? Adaptationism and Optimality combines contributions from biologists and philosophers, and offers a systematic treatment of foundational, conceptual, and methodological issues surrounding the theory of adaptationism.
Author Biography
Elliott Sober is Hans Reichenbach Professor of Philosophy and William F. Vilas Research Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison where he has taught since 1974. His research is in philosophy of science, especially in the philosophy of evolutionary biology. Sober's books include The Nature of Selection - Evolutionary Theory in Philosophical Focus (1984), Reconstructing the Past - Parsimony, Evolution, and Inference (1988), Philosophy of Biology (1993), From a Biological Point of View - Essays in Evolutionary Philosophy (1994), and Unto Others - The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (1998), coauthored with David Sloan Wilson.
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