Agents And Goals In Evolution

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Agents and Goals in Evolution

Samir Okasha
Agents and Goals in Evolution Book PDF

Author : Samir Okasha
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2018-06-21
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780192546739

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Agents and Goals in Evolution by Samir Okasha Pdf

Samir Okasha offers a philosophical perspective on evolutionary biology in Agents and Goals in Evolution. His focus is on "agential thinking", which is a mode of thought commonly employed in evolutionary biology. The paradigm case of agential thinking involves treating an evolved organism as if it were an agent pursuing a goal, such as survival or reproduction, and treating its phenotypic traits as strategies for achieving that goal, or furthering its biological interests. Agential thinking involves deliberately transposing a set of concepts - goals, interests, strategies - from rational human agents to the biological world more generally. Okasha's enquiry begins by asking whether this is justified. Is agential thinking mere anthropomorphism, or does it play a genuine intellectual role in the science? This central question leads Okasha to a series of further questions. How do we identify the "goal" that evolved organisms will behave as if they are trying to achieve? Can agential thinking ever be applied to groups or genes, rather than to individual organisms? And how does agential thinking relate to the controversies over fitness-maximization in evolutionary biology? In the final third of the book, Okasha examines the relation between the adaptive and the rational. If organisms can validly be treated as agent-like, for the purposes of evolutionary analysis, should we expect that their evolved behaviour will correspond to the behaviour of rational agents as codified in the theory of rational choice? If so, does this mean that the fitness-maximizing paradigm of the evolutionary biologist can be mapped directly to the utility-maximizing paradigm of the rational choice theorist? Okasha explores these questions using an inter-disciplinary methodology that draws on philosophy of science, evolutionary biology and economics.

The Evolution of Agency

Michael Tomasello
The Evolution of Agency Book PDF

Author : Michael Tomasello
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2022-09-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780262370219

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The Evolution of Agency by Michael Tomasello Pdf

A leading developmental psychologist proposes an evolutionary pathway to human psychological agency. Nature cannot build organisms biologically prepared for every contingency they might possibly encounter. Instead, Nature builds some organisms to function as feedback control systems that pursue goals, make informed behavioral decisions about how best to pursue those goals in the current situation, and then monitor behavioral execution for effectiveness. Nature builds psychological agents. In a bold new theoretical proposal, Michael Tomasello advances a typology of the main forms of psychological agency that emerged on the evolutionary pathway to human beings. Tomasello outlines four main types of psychological agency and describes them in evolutionary order of emergence. First was the goal-directed agency of ancient vertebrates, then came the intentional agency of ancient mammals, followed by the rational agency of ancient great apes, ending finally in the socially normative agency of ancient humans. Each new form of psychological organization represented increased complexity in the planning, decision-making, and executive control of behavior. Each also led to new types of experience of the environment and, in some cases, of the organism’s own psychological functioning, leading ultimately to humans’ experience of an objective and normative world that governs all of their thoughts and actions. Together, these proposals constitute a new theoretical framework that both broadens and deepens current approaches in evolutionary psychology.

Organisms, Agency, and Evolution

D. M. Walsh
Organisms Agency and Evolution Book PDF

Author : D. M. Walsh
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2015-11-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9781107122109

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Organisms, Agency, and Evolution by D. M. Walsh Pdf

This book argues that evolution arises from the activities of organisms as agents, not from the replication of genes.

The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins
The Selfish Gene Book PDF

Author : Richard Dawkins
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 1989
Category : Medical
ISBN : 0192860925

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The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins Pdf

Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science

The Social Evolution of Human Nature

Harry Smit
The Social Evolution of Human Nature Book PDF

Author : Harry Smit
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2014-04-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781107055193

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The Social Evolution of Human Nature by Harry Smit Pdf

Harry Smit examines the elements of current evolutionary theory and how they bear on the evolution of the human mind.

The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul

Simona Ginsburg,Eva Jablonka
The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul Book PDF

Author : Simona Ginsburg,Eva Jablonka
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 665 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2019-03-12
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780262039307

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The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul by Simona Ginsburg,Eva Jablonka Pdf

A new theory about the origins of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the evolutionary transition to basic consciousness. What marked the evolutionary transition from organisms that lacked consciousness to those with consciousness—to minimal subjective experiencing, or, as Aristotle described it, “the sensitive soul”? In this book, Simona Ginsburg and Eva Jablonka propose a new theory about the origin of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the transition to basic consciousness. Using a methodology similar to that used by scientists when they identified the transition from non-life to life, Ginsburg and Jablonka suggest a set of criteria, identify a marker for the transition to minimal consciousness, and explore the far-reaching biological, psychological, and philosophical implications. After presenting the historical, neurobiological, and philosophical foundations of their analysis, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose that the evolutionary marker of basic or minimal consciousness is a complex form of associative learning, which they term unlimited associative learning (UAL). UAL enables an organism to ascribe motivational value to a novel, compound, non-reflex-inducing stimulus or action, and use it as the basis for future learning. Associative learning, Ginsburg and Jablonka argue, drove the Cambrian explosion and its massive diversification of organisms. Finally, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose symbolic language as a similar type of marker for the evolutionary transition to human rationality—to Aristotle's “rational soul.”

Understanding Evolution

Kostas Kampourakis
Understanding Evolution Book PDF

Author : Kostas Kampourakis
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2014-04-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107034914

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Understanding Evolution by Kostas Kampourakis Pdf

Bringing together conceptual obstacles and core concepts of evolutionary theory, this book presents evolution as straightforward and intuitive.

Origin and Evolution of Viruses

Esteban Domingo,Colin R. Parrish,John J. Holland
Origin and Evolution of Viruses Book PDF

Author : Esteban Domingo,Colin R. Parrish,John J. Holland
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 573 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2008-06-23
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780080564968

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Origin and Evolution of Viruses by Esteban Domingo,Colin R. Parrish,John J. Holland Pdf

New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases. NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

Semiotic Agency

Alexei Sharov,Morten Tønnessen
Semiotic Agency Book PDF

Author : Alexei Sharov,Morten Tønnessen
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2022-02-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783030894849

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Semiotic Agency by Alexei Sharov,Morten Tønnessen Pdf

This book invites readers to embark on a journey into the world of agency encompassing humans, other organisms, cells, intracellular molecular agents, colonies, populations, ecological systems, and artificial autonomous systems. We combine mechanistic and non-mechanistic approaches in the analysis of the function and evolution of organisms, their subagents, and multi-organism systems, and in this way offer a theoretical platform for integrating biosemiotics with both natural science and the humanities/social sciences. Agents are autonomous systems that incorporate knowledge on how to make sense of their environment and use it to achieve their goals. The functions of all agents are supported by mechanisms at the lowest level; however, the explanatory power of mechanistic analysis is not sufficient for complex agents. Non-mechanistic methods rely on the goal-directedness of agents whose dynamics follow self-stabilized dynamic attractors. The properties of attractors depend on stable or slowly changing factors, and such dependencies can be interpreted as sign relations if they are adaptive in nature. Agents can replace or redirect mechanisms on demand in order to preserve their functions; for performing higher-level semiotic functions, mechanisms are thus only means. We assume that mechanism and semiosis are not mutually exclusive, and that simple agents can interpret signs mechanistically. This assumption allows us to extend semiotic analysis to all agents, including ribosomes in cells, computers, and robots. This book challenges established traditions in natural science and the humanities/social sciences: semiotics no longer appears as restricted to humans and rational thinking, and biology is no longer limited to rely exclusively on mechanistic reasoning.

Agents and Goals in Evolution

Samir Okasha
Agents and Goals in Evolution Book PDF

Author : Samir Okasha
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2018-06-04
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780192546722

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Agents and Goals in Evolution by Samir Okasha Pdf

Samir Okasha offers a philosophical perspective on evolutionary biology in Agents and Goals in Evolution. His focus is on "agential thinking", which is a mode of thought commonly employed in evolutionary biology. The paradigm case of agential thinking involves treating an evolved organism as if it were an agent pursuing a goal, such as survival or reproduction, and treating its phenotypic traits as strategies for achieving that goal, or furthering its biological interests. Agential thinking involves deliberately transposing a set of concepts - goals, interests, strategies - from rational human agents to the biological world more generally. Okasha's enquiry begins by asking whether this is justified. Is agential thinking mere anthropomorphism, or does it play a genuine intellectual role in the science? This central question leads Okasha to a series of further questions. How do we identify the "goal" that evolved organisms will behave as if they are trying to achieve? Can agential thinking ever be applied to groups or genes, rather than to individual organisms? And how does agential thinking relate to the controversies over fitness-maximization in evolutionary biology? In the final third of the book, Okasha examines the relation between the adaptive and the rational. If organisms can validly be treated as agent-like, for the purposes of evolutionary analysis, should we expect that their evolved behaviour will correspond to the behaviour of rational agents as codified in the theory of rational choice? If so, does this mean that the fitness-maximizing paradigm of the evolutionary biologist can be mapped directly to the utility-maximizing paradigm of the rational choice theorist? Okasha explores these questions using an inter-disciplinary methodology that draws on philosophy of science, evolutionary biology and economics.

The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes

Donald Hoffman
The Case Against Reality Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes Book PDF

Author : Donald Hoffman
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 347 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2019-08-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780393254709

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The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes by Donald Hoffman Pdf

Can we trust our senses to tell us the truth? Challenging leading scientific theories that claim that our senses report back objective reality, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman argues that while we should take our perceptions seriously, we should not take them literally. From examining why fashion designers create clothes that give the illusion of a more “attractive” body shape to studying how companies use color to elicit specific emotions in consumers, and even dismantling the very notion that spacetime is objective reality, The Case Against Reality dares us to question everything we thought we knew about the world we see.

Philosophy of Science

Samir Okasha
Philosophy of Science Book PDF

Author : Samir Okasha
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780198745587

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Philosophy of Science by Samir Okasha Pdf

"In this new edition Samir Ikasha reviews the main themes of contemporary philosophy of science. Beginning with a brief account of the history of modern science, he asks whether there is a discernible pattern to the way scientific ideas change over time. He examines scientific inference, scientific explanation, and the debate between realist and anti-realist views of science."--

Ecology and Evolution of Cancer

Beata Ujvari,Benjamin Roche,Frederic Thomas
Ecology and Evolution of Cancer Book PDF

Author : Beata Ujvari,Benjamin Roche,Frederic Thomas
Publisher : Academic Press
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2017-02-08
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780128043806

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Ecology and Evolution of Cancer by Beata Ujvari,Benjamin Roche,Frederic Thomas Pdf

Ecology and Evolution of Cancer is a timely work outlining ideas that not only represent a substantial and original contribution to the fields of evolution, ecology, and cancer, but also goes beyond by connecting the interfaces of these disciplines. This work engages the expertise of a multidisciplinary research team to collate and review the latest knowledge and developments in this exciting research field. The evolutionary perspective of cancer has gained significant international recognition and interest, which is fully understandable given that somatic cellular selection and evolution are elegant explanations for carcinogenesis. Cancer is now generally accepted to be an evolutionary and ecological process with complex interactions between tumor cells and their environment sharing many similarities with organismal evolution. As a critical contribution to this field of research the book is important and relevant for the applications of evolutionary biology to understand the origin of cancers, to control neoplastic progression, and to prevent therapeutic failures. Covers all aspects of the evolution of cancer, appealing to researchers seeking to understand its origins and effects of treatments on its progression, as well as to lecturers in evolutionary medicine Functions as both an introduction to cancer and evolution and a review of the current research on this burgeoning, exciting field, presented by an international group of leading editors and contributors Improves understanding of the origin and the evolution of cancer, aiding efforts to determine how this disease interferes with biotic interactions that govern ecosystems Highlights research that intends to apply evolutionary principles to help predict emergence and metastatic progression with the aim of improving therapies

From Darwin to Derrida

David Haig
From Darwin to Derrida Book PDF

Author : David Haig
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 509 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2020-03-31
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780262358033

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From Darwin to Derrida by David Haig Pdf

How the meaningless process of natural selection produces purposeful beings who find meaning in the world. In From Darwin to Derrida, evolutionary biologist David Haig explains how a physical world of matter in motion gave rise to a living world of purpose and meaning. Natural selection, a process without purpose, gives rise to purposeful beings who find meaning in the world. The key to this, Haig proposes, is the origin of mutable “texts”—genes—that preserve a record of what has worked in the world. These texts become the specifications for the intricate mechanisms of living beings. Haig draws on a wide range of sources—from Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy to Immanuel Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment to the work of Jacques Derrida to the latest findings on gene transmission, duplication, and expression—to make his argument. Genes and their effects, he explains, are like eggs and chickens. Eggs exist for the sake of becoming chickens and chickens for the sake of laying eggs. A gene's effects have a causal role in determining which genes are copied. A gene (considered as a lineage of material copies) persists if its lineage has been consistently associated with survival and reproduction. Organisms can be understood as interpreters that link information from the environment to meaningful action in the environment. Meaning, Haig argues, is the output of a process of interpretation; there is a continuum from the very simplest forms of interpretation, instantiated in single RNA molecules near the origins of life, to the most sophisticated. Life is interpretation—the use of information in choice.

Evolution and the Levels of Selection

Samir Okasha
Evolution and the Levels of Selection Book PDF

Author : Samir Okasha
Publisher : Clarendon Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2006-11-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780191533211

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Evolution and the Levels of Selection by Samir Okasha Pdf

Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? Samir Okasha provides a comprehensive analysis of the debate in evolutionary biology over the levels of selection, focusing on conceptual, philosophical and foundational questions. A systematic framework is developed for thinking about natural selection acting at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy; the framework is then used to help resolve outstanding issues. Considerable attention is paid to the concept of causality as it relates to the levels of selection, in particular the idea that natural selection at one hierarchical level can have effects that 'filter' up or down to other levels. Unlike previous work in this area by philosophers of science, full account is taken of the recent biological literature on 'major evolutionary transitions' and the recent resurgence of interest in multi-level selection theory among biologists. Other biological topics discussed include Price's equation, kin and group selection, the gene's eye view, evolutionary game theory, outlaws and selfish genetic elements, species and clade selection, and the evolution of individuality. Philosophical topics discussed include reductionism and holism, causation and correlation, the nature of hierarchical organization, and realism and pluralism.