Schelling, Hegel, and Evolutionary Progress
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Interpreting the History of Evolutionary Biology Through a Kuhnian Prism: Sense Or Nonsense?
Interpreting the History of Evolutionary Biology through a Kuhnian Prism: Sense or Nonsense? Koen B. Tanghe Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Universiteit Gent, Belgium Lieven Pauwels Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Universiteit Gent, Belgium Alexis De Tiège Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Universiteit Gent, Belgium Johan Braeckman Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Universiteit Gent, Belgium Traditionally, Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) is largely identified with his analysis of the structure of scientific revo- lutions. Here, we contribute to a minority tradition in the Kuhn literature by interpreting the history of evolutionary biology through the prism of the entire historical developmental model of sciences that he elaborates in The Structure. This research not only reveals a certain match between this model and the history of evolutionary biology but, more importantly, also sheds new light on several episodes in that history, and particularly on the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859), the construction of the modern evolutionary synthesis, the chronic discontent with it, and the latest expression of that discon- tent, called the extended evolutionary synthesis. Lastly, we also explain why this kind of analysis hasn’t been done before. We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive review, as well as the editor Alex Levine. Perspectives on Science 2021, vol. 29, no. 1 © 2021 by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology https://doi.org/10.1162/posc_a_00359 1 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/posc_a_00359 by guest on 30 September 2021 2 Evolutionary Biology through a Kuhnian Prism 1. -
Natural Necessity Natural Selection
NATURAL SELECTION NATURAL NECESSITY See Laws of Nature NATURAL SELECTION In modern evolutionary biology, a set of objects is Adaptationism said to experience a selection process precisely when At the close of his introduction to those objects vary in/itness (see Fitness). For exam On the Origin oj' ple, if zebras that run fast are fitter than zehras that Species, Darwin [1859] 1964, 6 says that natural selection is "the main but not the exclusive" cause run slow (perhaps because faster zebras are better ofevolution. In reaction to misinterpretations ofhis able to avoid lion predation), a selection process is theory, Darwin felt compelled to reemphasize, in the set in motion. If the trait that exhibits variation hook's last edition, that there was more to evolution in fit~ess is heritable-meaning, in our example, that faster parents tend to have faster offspring than natural selection. It remains a matter of con troversy in evolutionary biology how important and slower parents tend to have slower offspring then the selection process is apt to chancre trait natural selection has been in the history of life. frequencies in the population, leading fitte';. traits This is the poinl of biological substance that pres to increase in frequency and less fit traits to decline ently divides adaptationists and anti-adaptationists. The debate over adaptationism also has a separate (Lewontin 1970). This change is the one that selec tion is "apt" to engender, rather than the one that methodological dimension, with critics insisting that adaptive hypotheses be tested more rigorously must occur, because evolutionary theory describes <Gould and Lewontin 1979; Sober 1993). -
Revisiting the Eclipse of Darwinism
Journal of the History of Biology (2005) 38: 19–32 Ó Springer 2005 DOI: 10.1007/s10739-004-6507-0 Revisiting the Eclipse of Darwinism PETER J. BOWLER School of Anthropological Studies Queen’s University Belfast BT7 1NN Northern Ireland UK E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. The article sums up a number of points made by the author concerning the response to Darwinism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and repeats the claim that a proper understanding of the theory’s impact must take account of the extent to which what are now regarded as the key aspects of Darwin’s thinking were evaded by his immediate followers. Potential challenges to this position are described and responded to. Keywords: anti-Darwinism, Darwinism, eclipse of Darwinism Having written books with titles such as The Eclipse of Darwinism and The Non-Darwinian Revolution, I could hardly resist the offer to produce an overview of my current thinking on the status of the Darwinian revolution. My ideas have certainly developed over the years, but in a reasonably consistent manner. Each book has, in a sense, created the question that had to be answered in the next. The initial purpose was only to document the temporary explosion of interest in non-Darwinian ideas of evolutionism in the late nineteenth century. But once it became apparent that even some ostensible supporters of Darwinism adopted positions that would never be included under that name today, it be- came necessary to rethink the relationship between early and modern Darwinism, and to reassess why Darwin’s work was taken so seriously when it was first published. -
Hegel and Marx on Alienation a Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of Social Sciences of Middle East Technical University By
HEGEL AND MARX ON ALIENATION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY SEVGİ DOĞAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY FEBRUARY 2008 Approval of the Graduate School of (Name of the Graduate School) Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Prof. Dr. Ahmet İnam Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts of Philosophy. Assist. Prof. Dr. Barış Parkan Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assist. Prof. Dr. Barış Parkan (METU, PHIL) Assist. Prof. Dr. Elif Çırakman (METU, PHIL) Assist. Prof. Dr. Çetin Türkyılmaz (Hacettepe U., PHIL) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Sevgi Doğan Signature : iii ABSTRACT HEGEL AND MARX ON ALIENATION Doğan, Sevgi M.A., Department of Philosophy Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Barış Parkan February 2008, 139 pages Is alienation a process of self-discovery or is it a loss of reality? The subject of this thesis is how alienation is discussed in Hegel and Marx’s philosophies in terms of this question. -
Cultural Naturalism and the Market God David Timothy Denenny Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected]
Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Theses Theses and Dissertations 12-1-2018 Cultural Naturalism and the Market God David Timothy Denenny Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses Recommended Citation Denenny, David Timothy, "Cultural Naturalism and the Market God" (2018). Theses. 2464. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2464 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CULTURAL NATURALISM AND THE MARKET GOD by David Denenny B.A. Eastern Washington University, 2015 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree Department of Philosophy in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale December 2018 Copyright by David Denenny, 2018 All Rights Reserved THESIS APPROVAL CULTURAL NATURALISM AND THE MARKET GOD by David Denenny A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of Philosophy Approved by: Kenneth William Stikkers, Chair Randall Auxier Alfred Frankowski Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale November 8, 2018 AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF David Denenny, for the Master of Arts degree in Philosophy, presented on November 8, 2018, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: CULTURAL NATURALISM AND THE MARKET GOD MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Kenneth William Stikkers This work employs John Dewey's cultural naturalism to explore how and why the orthodox economic tradition functions as a religious faith. -
Brian O'meara EEB464 Fall 2018
Stephen Jay Gould Brian O’Meara EEB464 Fall 2018 Learning objectives: Who was Gould? Punctuated equilbrium Adaptationism How we argue in macroevolution Pair or single presentation. Imagine you are trying to get money to study a macroevolutionary question. You have to make a compelling case to a potential funder (i.e., the NSF will give you $15K to study it, or a professor might offer you a place in her lab to work on this). You should include 1) why that question is interesting (this should include what is known about it), 2) how you plan to address it, 3) what potential outcomes of your work may be, and 4) the implications of these. 10 minute talk (PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF, etc.). Be sure to include references in your slides. Popularization Punctuated equilibrium Arguments against panselectionism 7 8 “We talk about the ‘march from monad to man’ (old-style language again) as though evolution followed continuous pathways of progress along unbroken lineages. Nothing could be further from reality. I do not deny that, through time, the most ‘advanced’ organism has tended to increase in complexity. But the sequence from protozoan to jellyfish to trilobite to nautiloid to armored fish to dinosaur to monkey to human is no lineage at all, but a chronological set of termini on unrelated darwiniana trunks. Moreover life shows no trend to complexity in the usual sense— only an asymmetrical expansion of diversity around a starting point constrained to be simple.” — "Tires to Sandals," Eight Little Piggies, New York: W. W. Norton, 1993, p. 322. 9 “Well evolution is a theory. -
Machine Automation and the Critique of Abstract Labor in Hegel's Mature
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Philosophy Theses Department of Philosophy 12-12-2018 Machine Automation and the Critique of Abstract Labor in Hegel’s Mature Social Theory Matthew J. Delhey Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses Recommended Citation Delhey, Matthew J., "Machine Automation and the Critique of Abstract Labor in Hegel’s Mature Social Theory." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses/248 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Philosophy at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MACHINE AUTOMATION AND THE CRITIQUE OF ABSTRACT LABOR IN HEGEL’S MATURE SOCIAL THEORY by MATTHEW J. DELHEY Under the Direction of Sebastian Rand, PhD ABSTRACT This thesis examines Hegel’s critique of abstract labor in the Philosophy of Right and the sections on objective spirit in the Encyclopaedia. Against both Frederick Neuhouser’s and Marxist interpretations, I argue that abstract labor, for Hegel, characterizes the specific kind of mechanical labor undertaken in the nineteenth-century factory. Such repetitive labor, Hegel claims, leads to the deadening (Abstumpfung) of the worker through the deforming of her ethical subjectivity, a social pathology he hopes will be resolved by machine automation. By developing two key aspects of Hegel’s social theory—that labor produces ethical subjectivity or education (Bildung) and that this education is the central locus of civil society’s ethicality—I argue that we ought to understand Hegel’s hope for machine automation as a critique of those forms of labor which prevent the worker’s rational participation in the totality of the labor process and thus fail to actualize her social freedom. -
Natural Reward Drives the Advancement of Life
Rethinking Ecology 5: 1–35 (2020) doi: 10.3897/rethinkingecology.5.58518 PERSPECTIVES http://rethinkingecology.pensoft.net Natural reward drives the advancement of life Owen M. Gilbert1 1 University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA Corresponding author: Owen Gilbert ([email protected]) Academic editor: S. Boyer | Received 10 September 2020 | Accepted 10 November 2020 | Published 27 November 2020 Citation: Gilbert OM (2020) Natural reward drives the advancement of life. Rethinking Ecology 5: 1–35. https://doi. org/10.3897/rethinkingecology.5.58518 Abstract Throughout the history of life on earth, rare and complex innovations have periodically increased the efficiency with which abiotic free energy and biotic resources are converted to biomass and organismal diversity. Such macroevolutionary expansions have increased the total amount of abiotic free energy uti- lized by life and shaped the earth’s ecosystems. Meanwhile, Darwin’s theory of natural selection assumes a historical, worldwide state of effective resource limitation, which could not possibly be true if life evolved from one or a few original ancestors. In this paper, I analyze the self-contradiction in Darwin’s theory that comes from viewing the world and universe as effectively resource limited. I then extend evolutionary theory to include a second deterministic evolutionary force, natural reward. Natural reward operates on complex inventions produced by natural selection and is analogous to the reward for innovation in human economic systems. I hypothesize that natural reward, when combined with climate change and extinction, leads to the increased innovativeness, or what I call the advancement, of life with time. I then discuss ap- plications of the theory of natural reward to the evolution of evolvability, the apparent sudden appearance of new forms in the fossil record, and human economic evolution. -
The Biological Sciences Can Act As a Ground for Ethics” in Ayala, Francisco and Arp, Robert, Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology
1 This chapter to be published as: Ruse, Michael (2009). “The Biological Sciences Can Act as a Ground for Ethics” in Ayala, Francisco and Arp, Robert, Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. The Biological Sciences Can Act as a Ground for Ethics Michael Ruse Ethics is an illusion put in place by natural selection to make us good cooperators. – Michael Ruse and Edward O. Wilson (1985) This paper is interested in the relationship between evolutionary thinking and moral behavior and commitments, ethics. There is a traditional way of forging or conceiving of the relationship. This is traditional evolutionary ethics, known as Social Darwinism. Many think that this position is morally pernicious, a re- description of the worst aspects of modern, laissez-faire capitalism in fancy biological language. It is argued that, in fact, there is much more to be said for Social Darwinism than many think. In respects, it could be and was an enlightened position to take; but it flounders on the matter of justification. Universally, the appeal is to progress—evolution is progressive and, hence, morally we should aid its success. I argue, however, that this progressive nature of evolution is far from obvious and, hence, traditional social Darwinism fails. There is another way to do things. This is to argue that the search for justification is mistaken. Ethics just is. It is an adaptation for humans living socially and has exactly the same status as other adaptations, like hands and teeth and genitalia. As such, ethics is something with no standing beyond what it is. -
Hegel 250—Too Late?
HEGEL 250—TOO LATE? Ljubljana 2020 HEGEL 250—TOO LATE? ANALECTA Publisher: Društvo za teoretsko psihoanalizo Publishing board: Miran Božovič, Mladen Dolar, Rado Riha, Alenka Zupančič (president), Slavoj Žižek Edited by Mladen Dolar Copyedited by Tanja Dominko and Eric Powell Cover Design by AOOA Layout by Klemen Ulčakar Printed by Ulčakar Grafika First Edition Circulation 200 Ljubljana 2020 This publication has been co-published in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Ljubljana. CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 1Hegel G.W.F.(082) HEGEL 250 - too late? / [edited by Mladen Dolar]. - 1st ed. - Ljubljana : Društvo za teoretsko psihoanalizo : Goethe-Institut, 2020. - (Zbirka Analecta) (Problemi ; let. 58, 11-12) (Problemi International ; 2020, 4) ISBN 978-961-6376-94-5 (Društvo za teoretsko psihoanalizo) COBISS.SI-ID 61238531 Table of Contents Hegel Reborn: A Brief Introduction to HEGEL 250—TOO LATE? Árpád-Andreas Sölter. 5 Hegel’s Time! Ana Jovanović, Bara Kolenc, Urban Šrimpf, Goran Vranešević. 9 Nadia Bou Ali and Ray Brassier After Too Late: The Endgame of Analysis. 11 Mladen Dolar What’s the Time? On Being Too Early or Too Late in Hegel’s Philosophy. 31 Luca Illetteratti Nature’s Externality: Hegel’s Non-Naturalistic Naturalism. .51 Zdravko Kobe The Time of Philosophy: On Hegel’s Conception of Modern Philosophy . 73 Bara Kolenc Is It Too Late?. 91 Christian Krijnen “What, if Anything, Has Not Been Called Philosophizing?” On the Relevance of Hegel’s Conception of a Philosophical History of Philosophy. 119 Gregor Moder What Is To Be Done: On the Theatricality of Power. 143 Nadia Bou Ali and Ray Brassier Sebastian Rödl Thinking Nothing . -
Combating the Assumption of Evolutionary Progress: Lessons from the Decay and Loss of Traits
Evo Edu Outreach (2012) 5:128–138 DOI 10.1007/s12052-011-0381-y EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM ARTICLE Combating the Assumption of Evolutionary Progress: Lessons from the Decay and Loss of Traits Norman A. Johnson & David C. Lahti & Daniel T. Blumstein Published online: 25 January 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Contrary to popular belief, evolution is not nec- evolution courses, and discuss how such information may be essarily progressive. Indeed, traits are often lost or substan- best incorporated into evolution curricula. tially reduced in the process of evolution. In this article, we present several case studies that can be used in the class- Keywords Appendix . Cavefish . Relaxed selection . Trait room to illustrate both the ubiquity and diversity of cases of loss . Whale evolution trait loss. Our recently acquired knowledge of genetic and developmental processes can provide insight into how traits are gained and lost through evolution. Several practical Introduction: Overcoming a Biased History applications also emerge from studies of trait loss and degen- eration, and we focus on those with medical relevance. A common misconception is that evolution implies a pro- Examining trait loss also provides perspective on the crucial gressive and linear climb from ancient “simple” organisms differences between Darwinian evolution and social at the bottom to more recent “complex” ones further up, Darwinism. We encourage educators to devote greater atten- with humans usually at the apex. This is an old view—much tion to trait loss in secondary biology and undergraduate older than evolution itself. It follows from a venerable and pervasive tradition in Western thought that places all living entities in the universe on a “great chain of being” stretching from lowest to highest, worst to best. -
Kierkegaard, Literature, and the Arts
Kierke gaard, Literature, and the Arts Engraving, ca. 1837, by Carl Strahlheim showing the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin, with what was then the Schauspielhaus, or Theater (center)— now the concert house of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin— flanked by the German Cathedral (left) and the French Cathedral (right). Pictured in the background to the immediate right of the theater is the building, still standing today, in which Kierkegaard lodged during his four stays in Berlin, in 1841– 42, 1843, 1845, and 1846. It was there, as noted by a plaque outside, that Kierkegaard wrote the first drafts of Either/Or, Repetition, and Fear and Trembling. Kierkegaard, Literature, and the Arts Edited by Eric Ziolkowski northwestern university press evanston, illinois Northwestern University Press www.nupress.northwestern.edu Copyright © 2018 by Northwestern University Press. Published 2018. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Ziolkowski, Eric Jozef, 1958– editor. Title: Kierkegaard, literature, and the arts / edited by Eric Ziolkowski. Description: Evanston, Illinois : Northwestern University Press, 2018. | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017029795 | ISBN 9780810135970 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780810135963 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780810135987 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813–1855. | Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813– 1855—Aesthetics. | Literature—Philosophy. | Music and philosophy. | Art and philosophy. | Performing arts—Philosophy. Classification: LCC B4377 .K4558 2018 | DDC 198.9—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017029795 Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.