How biology shapes philosophy
Subtitle: new foundations for naturalism
By: [edited by] David Livingstone Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2016
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781316985915
Subjects: Naturalism; Philosophy and science; Biology; Naturalisme; Philosophie et sciences; Biologie; Naturalism (philosophical movement); SCIENCE; Cosmology
Description: How Biology Shapes Philosophy' is a seminal contribution to the emerging field of biophilosophy. It brings together work by philosophers who draw on biology to address traditional and not so traditional philosophical questions and concerns. Thirteen essays by leading figures in the field explore the biological dimensions of ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, gender, semantics, rationality, representation, and consciousness, as well as the misappropriation of biology by philosophers, allowing the reader to critically interrogate the relevance of biology for philosophy. Both rigorous and accessible, the essays illuminate philosophy and help us to acquire a deeper understanding of the human condition. This volume will be of interest to philosophers, biologists, social scientists, and other readers with an interest in bringing science and the humanities together.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Cover ; Half-title page; Title page; Copyright page; Dedication; Epigraph ; Contents; List of Figures; List of Contributors; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Biophilosophy; 1 Darwin and the Overdue Demise of Essentialism; 2 Darwinism as Philosophy: Can the Universal Acid Be Contained?; 3 Animal Evolution and the Origins of Experience; 4 Neurophilosophy; 5 Teleosemantics; 6 The Methodological Argument for Informational Teleosemantics; 7 Nature's Purposes and Mine; 8 Biology and the Theory of Rationality; 9 Evolution and Ethical Life; 10 Human Nature; title: 11 A Postgenomic Perspective on Sex and Gender12 Biophilosophy of Race; 13 How Philosophers "Learn" from Biology; title: Reductionist and Antireductionist "Lessons"; References; Index