Philosophy of biology 1551073 224118276 2008-07-07T11:47:25Z SilvonenBot 6351353 robot Modifying: [[de:Philosophie der Biologie]] The '''philosophy of biology''' is a subfield of [[philosophy of science]], which deals with [[epistemology|epistemological]], [[metaphysics|metaphysical]], and [[ethics|ethical]] issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have long been interested in biology (e.g., [[Aristotle]], [[Descartes]], and even [[Kant]]), philosophy of biology only emerged as an independent field of philosophy in the 1960s and 1970s. Philosophers of science then began paying increasing attention to developments in biology, from the rise of [[Neodarwinism]] in the 1930s and 1940s to the discovery of the structure of [[Deoxyribonucleic acid]] in 1953 to more recent advances in [[genetic engineering]]. Other key ideas such as the [[Reduction (philosophy)|reduction]] of all life processes to [[biochemical]] reactions as well as the incorporation of [[psychology]] into a broader [[neuroscience]] are also addressed. ==Overview== Philosophy of biology today has become a very visible, well-organized discipline - with its own journals, conferences, and professional organizations. The largest of the latter is the [http://www.ishpssb.org/ International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB)]; the name of the Society reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Generally, philosophers of biology can be seen as following an [[empiricism|empirical]] tradition, favoring [[Philosophical naturalism|naturalistic]] and [[physicalism|physicalistic]] theories over their counterparts. Many contemporary philosophers of biology have largely avoided traditional questions about the distinction between [[life]] and non-life. Instead, they have examined the practices, [[Theory#Science|theories]], and concepts of biologists with a view toward better understanding biology as a scientific discipline (or group of scientific fields). [[Scientific]] ideas are philosophically analyzed and their consequences are explored. It is sometimes difficult to delineate philosophy of biology as separate from [[theoretical biology]]. A few of the questions philosophers of biology have attempted to answer, for example, include: *"What is a biological [[species]]?" *"How is rationality possible, given our biological origins?" *"How do organisms coordinate their common behavior?" *"Are there genome editing agents?" *"How might our biological understandings of [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], sexuality, and [[gender]] reflect social values?" *"What is natural selection, and how does it operate in nature?" *"How do medical doctors explain [[disease]]?" *"From where do [[language]] and [[logic]] stem?"; *"How is [[ecology]] related to [[medicine]]?" *"What is the material basis of [[consciousness]]?" A subset of philosophers of biology with a more explicitly naturalistic orientation hope that biology will provide [[natural sciences|scientific]] answers to such fundamental problems of [[epistemology]], [[ethics]], [[aesthetics]], [[anthropology]] and even [[metaphysics]]. Furthermore, progress in biology urges modern societies to rethink traditional values concerning all aspects of [[human]] [[life]]. The possibility of [[genetics|genetic]] modification of human [[stem cells]], for example, has led to an ongoing controversy on how certain biological techniques could infringe upon ethical consensus (see [[bioethics]]). Some of the questions addressed by these philosophers of biology include: *"What is life?" *"What makes humans uniquely human?"; *"What is the basis of moral thinking?"; *"What are the factors we use for [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]] judgments?"; *"Is evolution compatible with [[Christianity]] or other [[Religion|religious]] systems?" Increasingly, ideas drawn from philosophical [[ontology]] and logic are being used by biologists in the domain of [[bioinformatics]]. Ontologies such as the [http://www.geneontology.org/ Gene Ontology] are being used to annotate the results of biological experiments in a variety of model organisms in order to create logically tractable bodies of data available for reasoning and search. The Gene Ontology itself is a species-neutral graph-theoretical representation of biological types joined together by formally defined [http://genomebiology.com/2005/6/5/R46 relations]. ==Reductionism, holism, and vitalism== One subject within philosophy of biology deals with the relationship between reductionism and holism, contending views with [[epistemology|epistemological]] and methodological significance, but also with ethical and metaphysical connotations. *[[Scientific reductionism]] is the view that higher-level processes can generally be better understood by looking at their constituent lower-level processes. For example, if we reduce the circulatory system to the dynamics of its parts rather than viewing it as a whole, it becomes evident it flows because the heart pumps its blood. *[[Holism]] is the view that emphasizes higher-level processes, also called [[emergent]] properties: phenomena at a larger level that occur due to the pattern of interactions between the elements of a system over time. For example, if we wanted to explain why one species of finch survived a drought while others died out, the holistic method looks at the entire ecosystem as a whole. Reducing an ecosystem to its parts in this case would be less effective at explaining overall behavior (in this case, the decrease in biodiversity). See also [[Holism in science]]) *[[Vitalism]] is the view, rejected by mainstream biologists since the 19th century, that there is a [[Odic force|life-force]] (called the "vis viva") that has thus far been unmeasurable scientifically that gives living organisms their "life." Vitalists often claimed that the vis viva acts with purposes according to its pre-established "form" (see [[teleology]]). Examples of vitalist philosophy are found in many [[religions]]. Mainstream biologists reject vitalism on the grounds that it opposes the [[scientific method]]. The scientific method was designed as a methodology to [[model (abstract)|build]] an extremely reliable understanding of the world, that is, a supportable, [[evidence]]d understanding. Following this epistemological view, mainstream scientists reject phenomena that have not been scientifically measured or verified, and thus reject vitalism. Some philosophers of biology have attempted to explain the rise and fall of reductionism, vitalism, and holism throughout the history of biology. For example, these philosophers claim that the ideas of [[Charles Darwin]] ended the last remainders of [[teleological]] views from biology. Debates in these areas of philosophy of biology turn on how one views reductionism. ==An autonomous philosophy of biology== All processes in organisms obey physical laws, the difference from inanimate processes lying in their organisation and their being subject to control by coded information. This has led some biologists and philosophers (for example, [[Ernst Mayr]] and [[David Hull]]) to return to the strictly philosophical reflections of [[Charles Darwin]] to resolve some of the problems which confronted them when they tried to employ a philosophy of science derived from [[classical physics]]. This latter, [[positivist]] approach emphasised a strict determinism (as opposed to high probability) and to the discovery of universally applicable laws, testable in the course of experiment. It was difficult for biology, beyond a basic microbiological level, to live up to these strictures - [[Karl Popper]] for example said in 1974 that "''Darwinism is not a testable scientific theory, but a metaphysical research programme''." Standard philosophy of science seemed to leave out a lot of what characterised living organisms - namely, a historical component in the form of an inherited genotype. Biologists with philosophic interests responded, emphasising the dual nature of the living organism. On the one hand there was the genetic programme (represented in nucleic acids) - the ''[[genotype]]''. On the other there was its extended body or ''soma'' - the ''[[phenotype]]''. In accommodating the more probabilistic and non-universal nature of biological generalisations, it was a help that standard philosophy of science was in the process of accommodating similar aspects of 20th century [[physics]]. This led to a distinction between ''proximate'' causes and explanations - "how" questions dealing with the phenotype; and ''ultimate causes'' - "why" questions, including evolutionary causes, focused on the genotype. This clarification was part of the great reconciliation, by [[Ernst Mayr]], among others, in the 1940s, between [[Darwinian evolution]] by [[natural selection]] and the [[genetics|genetic]] model of inheritance. A commitment to conceptual clarification has characterised many of these philosophers since. Trivially, this has reminded us of the scientific basis of all biology, while noting its diversity - from microbiology to ecology. A complete philosophy of biology would need to accommodate all these activities. Less trivially, it has unpacked the notion of "[[teleology]]". Since 1859, scientists have had no need for a notion of cosmic teleology - a programme or a law that can explain and predict evolution. Darwin provided that. But teleological explanations (relating to purpose or function) have remained stubbornly useful in biology - from the structural configuration of [[macromolecules]] to the study of co-operation in social systems. By clarifying and restricting the use of the term to describe and explain systems controlled strictly scientifically by genetic programmes, or other physical systems, teleological questions can be framed and investigated while remaining committed to the physical nature of all underlying organic processes. Similar attention has been given to the concepts of ''[[natural selection]]'' (what is the target of natural selection? - the individual? the genome? the species?); ''[[adaptation]]; diversity and [[Taxonomic classification|classification]]; [[species]] and [[speciation]]''; and ''[[macroevolution]]''. Just as [[biology]] has developed as an autonomous discipline in full conversation with the other sciences, there is a great deal of work now being carried on by biologists and philosophers to develop a dedicated philosophy of biological science which, while in full conversation with all other philosophic disciplines, attempts to give answers to the real questions raised by scientific investigations in biology. ==Other perspectives== While the overwhelming majority of English-speaking scholars operating under the banner of "''philosophy of biology''" work within the [[English American|Anglo-American]] tradition of [[Analytical Philosophy]], there is a stream of philosophic work in [[Continental philosophy]] which seeks to deal with issues deriving from biological science. The communication difficulties involved between these two traditions are well known, not helped by differences in language. [[Gerhard Vollmer]] is often thought of as a bridge but, despite his education and residence in Germany, he largely works in the Anglo-American tradition, particularly [[Pragmatism]], and is famous for his development of [[Konrad Lorenz|Lorenz's]] and [[Willard Van Orman Quine|Quine's]] idea of [[Evolutionary Epistemology]]. On the other hand, one [[Harvard University]] scholar who has attempted to give a more Continental account of the philosophy of biology is [[Hans Jonas]]. His "''The Phenomenon of Life''" (New York, 1966) sets out boldly to offer an "''[[existentialism|existential interpretation]] of biological facts''", starting with the organism's response to stimulus and ending with man confronting the Universe, and drawing upon a detailed reading of [[phenomenology]]. This is unlikely to have much influence on mainstream philosophy of biology, but indicates, as does Vollmer's work, the current powerful influence of biological thought on philosophy. A more engaging account is given by the [[Chicago]] philosopher [[Marjorie Grene]]. ==See also== *[[Bioethics]] *[[Biosemiotics]] *[[Evolutionary anthropology]] *[[Evolutionary psychology]] *[[Mechanism (biology)]] *[[Neuroaesthetics]] *[[Philosophy of chemistry]] *[[Philosophy of mind]] *[[Philosophy of physics]] *[[Philosophy of science]] *[[Sociobiology]] ===Philosophers of biology === *[[Andre Ariew]] *[[John Beatty (philosopher)|John Beatty]] *[[William Bechtel]] *[[Robert Brandon]] *[[Ingo Brigandt]] *[[Donald T. Campbell]] *[[Lindley Darden]] *[[Daniel Dennett]] *[[John Dupré]] *[[Marc Ereshefsky]] *[[Peter Godfrey-Smith]] *[[James R. Griesemer]] *[[Paul E. Griffiths]] *[[David Hull]] *[[Philip Kitcher]] *[[Elisabeth Lloyd]] *[[Matteo Mameli]] *[[Mohan Matthen]] *[[Ruth Millikan]] *[[Roberta L. Millstein]] *[[Samir Okasha]] *[[Alexander Rosenberg]] *[[Michael Ruse]] *[[Robert A. Skipper]] *[[Elliott Sober]] *[[Kyle Stanford]] *[[Kim Sterelny]] *Denis Walsh *[[C. Kenneth Waters]] *[[Robert Wilson]] *[[William C. Wimsatt]] *[[Guenther Witzany]] === Biologists with an interest in the philosophical aspects of biology === *[[Patrick Bateson]] *[[Richard Dawkins]] *[[Jared Diamond]] *[[Richard Lewontin]] *[[John Maynard Smith]] *[[Ernst Mayr]] *[[Stephen Jay Gould]] *[[Edward O. Wilson]] ==Bibliography== * Mayr, E ''The Growth of Biological Thought: diversity, evolution and inheritance'' [[London]] Harvard University Press 1982 ISBN 0-674-36445-7 * Mayr, E ''[[Toward a New Philosophy of Biology|Towards a new philosophy of biology:observations of an evolutionist]]'' London Harvard University Press 1988 ISBN 0-674-89666-1 * [[Alexander Rosenberg]] ''Structure of Biological Science'' [[Cambridge]] [[Cambridge University]] Press 1985 * [[Elliot Sober]] ''The Nature of Selection'' [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge, Mass.]] [[MIT]] Press 1984 * [[Guenther Witzany]] ''Life: The Communicative Structure. A New Philosophy of Biology'' [[Norderstedt.]] [[Libri]] 2000 ISBN 3831103496[http://www.amazon.de/Life-Communicative-Structure-Philosophy-Biology/dp/3831103496] ==External links== * [http://philosophy.ucdavis.edu/millstein/philbio.html Roberta Millstein's compilation of History and Philosophy of Biology Resources] [[Category:Philosophy of biology| ]] [[de:Philosophie der Biologie]] [[es:Filosofía de la biología]] [[fa:فلسفه زیست‌شناسی]] [[ja:生物学の哲学]] [[no:Biologiens filosofi]] [[pt:Filosofia da biologia]] [[fi:Biologian filosofia]] [[tr:Biyolojinin felsefesi]]