From: 75008378@IE.DCU.VAX1 (Barry McMullin, DCU (Dublin, Ireland) <75008378@IE.DCU.VAX1>)
Newsgroups: bionet.population-bio
Subject: TR Announcement: bmcm9203 - "Genic & Organismic Selection"
Date: 28 Aug 92 14:35:00 GMT
Distribution: bionet
X-Envelope-To: pop-bio@daresbury.ac.uk
X-Vms-Cc: 75008378
Original-To: pop-bio@UK.AC.DARESBURY
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[The following announcment is being cross-posted on Alife Digest,
GA-List Digest, and POP+BIO.  If you subscribe to more than one,
my apologies for the noise.  All flames to me, not the list or
list maintainers! This TR is the last in a series of three.
Deo Gratias. Instructions for obtaining a copy are
at the end. Enjoy - Barry]
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
                        TR ANNOUNCEMENT
                        ---------------
 
                    Essays on Darwinism
            3: Genic and Organismic Selection
 
             Barry McMullin,
             School of Electronic Engineering,
             Dublin City University,
             Dublin 9,
             IRELAND.
 
             <McMullinB@DCU.IE>
 
                        May 1992
 
               Technical Report: bmcm9203
 
 
ABSTRACT:
---------
 
The notion that {\em genes\/} play a uniquely distinguished
\role\ in biological evolution has been championed by Richard
Dawkins \cciteD{Dawkins:SelfishGene,Dawkins:NewSelfishGene}.
Furthermore, Dawkins has argued that this idea can be generalised
in a way which makes it applicable to any properly Darwinian
evolutionary process, at least if that process gives rise to a
growth in adaptive complexity
\cciteAD{Dawkins:UniversalDarwinism}.  It is evident, therefore,
that if Dawkins' analysis is correct, it has profound
implications for any attempt to realise a growth of adaptive
complexity in {\em artificial systems\/} by Darwinian means.
 
This essay is concerned with a detailed evaluation and critique
of Dawkins' claims, and, to a lesser extent, of the related
analysis carried out by David L.%Hull
(\ociteD{Hull:IndividualityAndSelection,Hull:UnitsOfEvolution}).
It provides a reformulation which, it is claimed,
captures the core of valid insights which these workers have
achieved while, at the same time, avoiding certain confusions
and misconceptions which might otherwise be read into their views.
 
The essay draws on concepts introduced in two previous essays
(McMullin
\ociteD{McMullin:DarwinianOntology,McMullin:Organismic}); the
three essays are therefore best read in conjunction with each
other.
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++
 
[ Details of the citations used above are available in the TR. ]
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++
 
HOW TO OBTAIN A COPY OF bmcm9203:
---------------------------------
 
* Preferred Method *
 
   ftp the file <bmcm9203.ps.Z> from directory <pub/alife/papers>
   on the Alife archive <ftp.cognet.ucla.edu>. I should warn that
   bmcm9203 is another biggie: it runs to 44 printed pages...
 
   [There was a problem with this method when the TR was first announced
   on ALife Digest, but this is now fixed - I hope...]
 
* Otherwise *
 
   If you can't do that (or don't know how), contact me,
   <McMullinB@DCU.IE>, for information on alternative ways of
   getting the reprort.
 
+++++++++++++++++
 
Bye .... Barry.