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Universal Biology Universal Biology by Carlos Mariscal Department of Philosophy Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Robert N. Brandon, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Alexander Rosenberg, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Tyler Curtain ___________________________ Daniel W. McShea ___________________________ Karen Neander ___________________________ V. Louise Roth Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 ABSTRACT Universal Biology by Carlos Mariscal Department of Philosophy Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Robert N. Brandon, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Alexander Rosenberg, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Tyler Curtain ___________________________ Daniel W. McShea ___________________________ Karen Neander ___________________________ V. Louise Roth An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 Universal Biology by Carlos Mariscal is licensed under the 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/deed.en_US. 2014 Abstract Our only example of life is our own– which forms a single lineage. We know little about what life would look like if we found evidence of a second origin. But geometry, mechanics, and chemistry are all taken to be universal and each has predictable biological consequences. The surface-to-volume ratio property of geometry, for example, limits the size of unassisted cells in a given environment. This effect is universal, interesting, not vague, and not arbitrary. Furthermore, there are some problems in the universe that life must solve if it is to persist, such as resistance to radiation, faithful inheritance, and resistance to environmental pressures. If these universal problems have a limited set of possible solutions, some common outcomes must always emerge. In this book, I develop and defend an account of universal biology, the study of non-vague, non-arbitrary, non-accidental, biological generalizations. In my account, a candidate biological generalization is assessed by the assumptions it makes. A claim is accepted only if its justifications include principles of evolution, but no contingent facts of life on Earth. In this way, we can assess the counterfactual support generalizations are able to provide. I contend that using a stringent causal analysis, we can have insight into the nature of life everywhere. Life on Earth may be our single example of life, but this is only a reason to be cautious in our approach to life in the universe, not a reason to give up altogether. iv Dedication I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my first, second, and third-grade teacher, Richard Archuleta, who gave me a head start on life and fostered my passion for learning; to my undergraduate adviser, Jean-Paul Vessel, without whom I would never have gone back to philosophy, let alone made a career out of it; and finally to Daniel Davenport, for being there with me every step of the way. Mr. D: you are now officially allowed to call me Dr. C. v Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. X LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. XIII CHAPTER 1 – CAN WE REGARD BIOLOGY AS UNIVERSAL? ............................................ 1 1.1 – Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 – Regarding Biology as a Provincial Science .......................................... 3 1.3 – Autonomous Biological Laws and Universal Biology ......................... 7 1.4 – Stephen J. Gould’s So-Called Wonderful Life ..................................... 11 1.5 – Measuring the Contingency of Evolutionary Change ....................... 15 1.6 – Living with an N of 1 .......................................................................... 20 1.7 – A Recent Critique of Universal Biology ............................................. 26 1.8 – Conclusion ........................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 2 – A REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSAL BIOLOGIES ............................ 33 2.1 – Introduction ......................................................................................... 33 2.2 – Metaphysical/Terminological Issues with ‘Universal Biology’ ......... 34 2.3 – Astrobiology: Studying Life in the Universe ..................................... 40 2.4 – Richard Dawkins’ Interpretation of Universal Biology .................... 45 2.4.1 – Origin of replicators and, hence, life ..................................... 48 2.4.2 – A distinction between phenotypes & genotypes ................... 48 2.4.3 – Engaging replicators working as a team ............................... 49 2.4.4 – When many cells share common fate .................................... 49 2.4.5 – Energy abundance and high speed information ................... 49 2.4.6 – Mankind and other intelligent life-specific thresholds ......... 50 vi 2.4.7 – Space travel and ongoing interstellar colonization ............... 50 2.5 – A Design Space in Dennett’s Idea ....................................................... 52 2.5.1 – Why defining vision is likely problematic ............................. 55 2.5.2 – Sunlight and limiting conditions for vision ........................... 56 2.5.3 – Atmospheric and environmental assumptions of vision ....... 57 2.5.4 – Environmental and selective pressures affecting vision ....... 57 2.5.5 – Organismal constraints limiting evolution of vision ............. 58 2.5.6 – Mechanical constraints limiting development of vision ....... 58 2.5.7 – Evolutionary concerns with respect to vision ....................... 59 2.6 – Sterelny & Griffith’s Sex & Death ....................................................... 62 2.7 – Leading Kauffman’s Investigations of General Biology ....................... 67 2.8 – Conclusion ........................................................................................... 72 CHAPTER 3 – REGARDING BIOLOGY AS A UNIVERSAL SCIENCE .................................. 74 3.1 – Introduction ......................................................................................... 74 3.2 – A New Account of Universal Biology ................................................ 77 3.3 – Methodology for Research in Universal Biology .............................. 81 3.4 – Rethinking Universal Biology: An Ecological Case Study ............... 83 3.5 – Limitations, Virtues, and Payoff of Account ...................................... 90 3.5.1 – Original account with a well-defined subject ....................... 91 3.5.2 – We can extend to ‘generalized Darwinism.’ ......................... 92 3.5.3 – Avoids vague, arbitrary, or trivial claims .............................. 93 3.5.4 – Empirical contributions are permitted and used .................. 93 3.5.5 – Methodology aims to explicitly justify claims ....................... 93 3.5.6 – Evolutionary laws are no longer relevant ............................. 94 3.5.7 – Secures a universality independent of physics ..................... 95 vii 3.6 – A Universal Biology ‘On the Cheap’ .................................................. 95 3.7 – Solutions to Potential Concerns and Objections ............................... 98 3.8 – Conclusion ......................................................................................... 104 CHAPTER 4 – LIFE ELIMINATIVISM IN A UNIVERSAL CONTEXT .................................. 107 4.1 – Matters of Life and Death ................................................................ 107 4.2 – All About the Meaning of ‘Life’ ........................................................ 108 4.3 – Reaching the Prime of its Life .......................................................... 112 4.4 – Injured while Risking Life and Limb ............................................... 117 4.5 – So it Goes; Such is Life ..................................................................... 119 4.6 – Can’t for the life of me ....................................................................... 123 4.7 – Adaptive complexity as fact of life .................................................... 125 4.8 – Life is short; time is swift .................................................................. 127 CHAPTER 5 – ON POSSIBLE BIOLOGY WITH NON-ACTUAL PHYSICS ....................... 130 5.1 – Introduction ....................................................................................... 130 5.2 – Anti-Reductionism and Physical Reductionism about Evolution ... 131 5.3 – Reductionism about Evolution: Physics or Logic ............................ 137 5.4 – Logical Reductionism or Anti-Reductionism about Evolution ....... 140 5.5 – Arguments in Favor of Logical reductionism .................................
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