Brian G. Henning, Adam Scarfe

Beyond Mechanism (eBook, ePUB)

Putting Life Back Into Biology

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

It has been said that new discoveries and developments in the human, social, and natural sciences hang "in the air" (Bowler, 1983; 2008) prior to their consummation. While neo-Darwinist biology has been powerfully served by its mechanistic metaphysic and a reductionist methodology in which living organisms are considered machines, many of the chapters in this volume place this paradigm into question. Pairing scientists and philosophers together, this volume explores what might be termed "the New Frontiers" of biology, namely contemporary areas of research that appear to call an updating, a supplementation, or a relaxation of some of the main tenets of the Modern Synthesis. Such areas of investigation include: Emergence Theory, Systems Biology, Biosemiotics, Homeostasis, Symbiogenesis, Niche Construction, the Theory of Organic Selection (also known as "the Baldwin Effect"), Self-Organization and Teleodynamics, as well as Epigenetics. Most of the chapters in this book offer critical reflections on the neo-Darwinist outlook and work to promote a novel synthesis that is open to a greater degree of inclusivity as well as to a more holistic orientation in the biological sciences.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 484
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Februar 2013
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780739174371
• Artikelnr.: 38219871

Autorenporträt

Brian G. Henning is professor of philosophy at Gonzaga University.

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword: Evolution Beyond Newton, Darwin, and Entailing Law Introduction:
On a "Life-Blind Spot" in Neo-Darwainism's Mechanistic Metaphysical Lens
Section 1: Complexity, Systems Theory, and Emergence Chapter 1: Complex
Systems Dynamics in Evolution and Emergence Processes Chapter 2: Why
Emergence Matters Chapter 3: On the Incompatibility of the Neo-Darwinian
Hypothesis With Systems-Theoretical Explanations of Biological Development
Chapter 4: Process-First Ontology Chapter 5: Ordinal Pluralism as
Metaphysics for Biology Section 2: Biosemiotics Chapter 6: Why Do We Need a
Semiotic Understanding of Life? Chapter 7: The Irreducibility of Life to
Mentality: Biosemiotics or Emergence? Section 3: Homeostasis,
Thermodynamics, and Symbiogenesis Chapter 8: Biology's Second Law:
Homeostasis, Purpose and Desire Chapter 9: "Wind at Life's Back" -Toward a
Naturalistic, Whiteheadian Teleology: Symbiogenesis and the Second Law
Chapter 10: Of Termites and Men: On the Ontology of Collective Individuals
Section 4: The Baldwin Effect, Behavior, and Evolution Chapter 11: The
Baldwin Effect in an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis Chapter 12: On the
Ramifications of the Theory of Organic Selection for Environmental and
Evolutionary Ethics Section 5: Autogen, Teleology, and Teleodynamics
Chapter 13: Teleology Versus Mechanism in Biology: Beyond Self-Organization
Chapter 14: Teleodynamics: A Neo-Naturalistic Conception of Organismic
Teleology Section 6: Epigenetics Chapter 15: Epigenetics: Toward An
Inclusive Concept of Evolution Chapter 16: Epigenetics, Soft Inheritance,
Mechanistic Metaphysics, and Bioethics Section 7: Organism and Mechanism
Chapter 17: From Organicism to Mechanism-and Half-Way Back? Chapter 18:
Machines and Organisms: The Rise and Fall of a Conflict About the
Contributors