Life and Evolution: Latin American Essays on the History and Philosophy of Biology (History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences (26))

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Contents
Contributors
Getting to Know the Contributors
Chapter 1: Introduction to Life and Evolution
	1.1 The History and Philosophy of Biology in Latin America
	1.2 Content of the Book
	References
Chapter 2: Weldon’s Unpublished Manuscript: An Attempt at Reconciliation Between Mendelism and Biometry?
	2.1 Introduction
	2.2 Weldon’s Objections to Mendel’s Proposal
	2.3 Weldon’s View on Inheritance
	2.4 Weldon’s Unpublished Views of Mendel’s Proposal and Mendelian Contributions
	2.5 Final Remarks
	References
Chapter 3: Blood, Transfusions, and Longevity
	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 Metaphysics, Practice, and Forgetfulness
	3.3 “Comradely Exchange of Life”
	3.4 Blood and Transhumanism
	3.5 Concluding Remarks
	References
Chapter 4: Performative Epistemology and the Philosophy of Experimental Biology: A Synoptic Overview
	4.1 Introduction
	4.2 Constrained Action
	4.3 Standardization
	4.4 Epistemic “Tightening”
	4.5 Extrapolation
	4.6 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 5: Life on Earth Is Not a Passenger, but a Driver: Explaining the Transition from a Physicochemical to a Life-Constrained World from an Organizational Perspective
	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 The Organizational Approach to Biological and Ecological Systems
	5.3 How Marine Life Makes Clouds
	5.4 The Organizational Approach Applied to the Life-Clouds System
	5.5 Concluding Remarks
	References
Chapter 6: Cooperation and the Gradual Emergence of Life and Teleonomy
	6.1 The Fundamental Problem: The Gradual Emergence of Life and Purpose
	6.2 The Ahistorical Approach to the Origins of Life
	6.3 Biology in a Continuum with Chemistry
	6.4 The Peculiar Stability of Autocatalytic Reactions
	6.5 Complexification and Cooperation
	6.6 Cooperation and Teleonomy
	References
Chapter 7: Evolutionary Debunking Arguments and Moral Realism
	7.1 Debunking Arguments
		7.1.1 The Modal Argument
		7.1.2 The Parsimony Argument
	7.2 Street’s Debunking Argument
	7.3 A Version of Moral Realism Based on Realism Itself: A Critical Examination of Street’s Argument
	7.4 Reassessing the Superiority of the Adaptive Link Account Over the Tracking Account
	7.5 Conclusions
	References
Chapter 8: The Darwinian Naturalization of Teleology
	8.1 Introduction
	8.2 Adaptation and Design
	8.3 The Mistake to Avoid
	8.4 Functions as Causal Roles
	8.5 Effectiveness and Fitness
	8.6 Biological Design: Natural Selection
	References
Chapter 9: Drift as a Force of Evolution: A Manipulationist Account
	9.1 Introduction
	9.2 Drift as a Force and Its Enemies
	9.3 Causes and Forces
	9.4 The Manipulationist Account of Explanatory Depth
	9.5 Force-Explanations as Deep Explanations
	9.6 Drift as a Force
	9.7 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 10: Laws, Models, and Theories in Biology: A Unifying Interpretation
	10.1 Introduction
	10.2 The Concept of Law from the Point of View of Metatheoretical Structuralism
		10.2.1 Laws in Population Dynamics
	10.3 The Concept of Model from the Point of View of Metatheoretical Structuralism
		10.3.1 Models in Population Dynamics
	10.4 The Concept of Theory from the Point of View of Metatheoretical Structuralism
		10.4.1 The Theory-Net of Population Dynamics
			The Basic Theory-Element of Population Dynamics
			The Basic Core of Population Dynamics
			The Intended Applications and the Basic Theory-Element of Population Dynamics
			The Empirical Claim of Population Dynamics
			Specializations of Population Dynamics
	10.5 Making Them Explicit: Laws and the Connection of Models to Theories: Discussion on the Basis of Previous Analysis
		10.5.1 On Claim (a) That There Are “Laws” in Biological Sciences
		10.5.2 On Claim (b) That Many of the Heterogeneous and Different “Models” of Biology Can Be Accommodated Under Some “Theory”
		10.5.3 On Claim (c) about the Unifying Power of Biological Theories
	10.6 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 11: Systemic Analysis and Functional Explanation: Structure and Limitations
	11.1 Introduction
	11.2 Systemic Approach to Function
	11.3 Systemic Analysis, an Application Example
	11.4 The Systemic Approach as a Factive Theory
	11.5 Can the Systemic Approach Account for Every Functional Explanation in Biology?
	11.6 The Explanandum of Functional Systemic Explanations and the Order of Determination
	11.7 Conclusion: Systemic Analysis and Functional Explanation
	References
Index