The Evolution of Agency and Other Essays
Part of Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology
- Author: Kim Sterelny, Victoria University of Wellington
- Date Published: February 2001
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521645379
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This book presents a collection of linked essays written by one of the leading philosophers of biology, Kim Sterelny, on the topic of biological evolution. The first half of the book explores most of the main theoretical controversies about evolution and selection. Sterelny argues that genes are not the only replicators: non-genetic inheritance is also extremely important, and is no mere epiphenomenon of gene selection. The second half of the book applies some of these ideas in considering cognitive evolution. Concentrating on the mental capacities of simpler animals rather than those of humans, Sterelny argues for a general distinction between detection and representation, and that the evolution of belief, like that of representation, can be decoupled from the evolution of preference. These essays, some never before published, form a coherent whole that defends not just an overall conception of evolution, but also a distinctive take on cognitive evolution.
Read more- Sterelny is a big name in his field
- There are no recent essay collections that cover issues in both evolution itself and its application to issues in the evolution of the mind
- A good mix of newer and previously-published essays
Reviews & endorsements
'… a wonderful collection of essays. Everyone interested in the philosophy of biology and in evolutionary philosophy of mind should read these essays.' Erkenntnis
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×Product details
- Date Published: February 2001
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521645379
- length: 328 pages
- dimensions: 229 x 153 x 20 mm
- weight: 0.442kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Part I. Overview:
1. Evolution and agency: a user's guide
Part II. Replication and Interaction:
2. Return of the gene (with Philip Kitcher)
3. The gxtended replicator (with Kelly Smith and Mike Dickison)
4. The return of the group
Part III. Evolution and Macroevolution:
5. Punctuated equilibrium and macroevolution
6. Explanatory pluralism in evolutionary biology
7. Darwin's tangled bank
Part IV. The Descent of the Mind:
8. Where does thinking come from? A commentary on Peter Godfrey Smith's Complexity and the Function of Mind in Nature
9. Basic minds
10. Intentional agency and the metarepresentation hypothesis
11. Situated agency and the descent of desire
12. The evolution of agency.
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