The Selective Environment
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The Selective Environment
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Author : Dean Hawkes
language : en
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Release Date : 2002
The Selective Environment written by Dean Hawkes and has been published by Taylor & Francis this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2002 with Architecture categories.
This book is an approach to environmentally responsive architectural design that seeks to make connections between technical preoccupations of architectural science, and the necessity to sustain cultural identity.
The Selective Environment
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Author : Dean Hawkes
language : en
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Release Date : 2013-10-08
The Selective Environment written by Dean Hawkes and has been published by Taylor & Francis this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-10-08 with Architecture categories.
Written by leading researcher in environmental science Unique book based on research findings Case studies in Berlin, Lagos and Cambridge supported by review of contemporary worldwide environmental design
Darwinian Creativity And Memetics
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Author : Maria Kronfeldner
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2014-09-11
Darwinian Creativity And Memetics written by Maria Kronfeldner and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-09-11 with Philosophy categories.
Maria Kronfeldner examines how Darwinism has been used to explain novelty and change in culture through the Darwinian approach to creativity and the theory of memes. The first claims that creativity is based on a Darwinian process of blind variation and selection, while the latter claims that culture is based on and explained by units - memes - that are similar to genes. Both theories try to describe and explain mind and culture by applying Darwinism by way of analogies. Kronfeldner shows that the analogies involved in these theories lead to claims that give either wrong or at least no new descriptions or explanations of the phenomena at issue. Whereas the two approaches are usually defended or criticized on the basis that they are dangerous for our vision of ourselves, this book takes a different perspective: it questions the acuteness of these approaches. Darwinian theory is not like a dangerous wolf, hunting for our self image. Far from it, in the case of the two analogical applications addressed in this book, Darwinian theory is shown to behave more like a disoriented sheep in wolf's clothing.
Adaptation And Environment
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Author : Robert N. Brandon
language : en
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Release Date : 2014-07-14
Adaptation And Environment written by Robert N. Brandon and has been published by Princeton University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-07-14 with Science categories.
By focusing on the crucial role of environment in the process of adaptation, Robert Brandon clarifies definitions and principles so as to help make the argument of evolution by natural selection empirically testable. He proposes that natural selection is the process of differential reproduction resulting from differential adaptedness to a common selective environment. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Entangled Life
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Author : Gillian Barker
language : en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date : 2013-09-05
Entangled Life written by Gillian Barker and has been published by Springer Science & Business Media this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-09-05 with Philosophy categories.
This volume explores the interactions between organisms and their environments and how this “entanglement” is a fundamental aspect of all life. It brings together the work and ideas of historians, philosophers, biologists, and social scientists, uniting a range of new perspectives, methods, and frameworks for examining and understanding the ways that organisms and environments interact. The volume is organized into three main sections: historical perspectives, contested models, and emerging frameworks. The first section explores the origins of the modern idea of organism-environment interaction in the mid-nineteenth century and its development by later psychologists and anthropologists. In the second section, a variety of controversial models—from mathematical representations of evolution to model organisms in medical research—are discussed and reframed in light of recent questions about the interplay between organisms and environment. The third section investigates several new ideas that have the potential to reshape key aspects of the biological and social sciences. Populations of organisms evolve in response to changing environments; bodies and minds depend on a wide array of circumstances for their development; cultures create complex relationships with the natural world even as they alter it irrevocably. The chapters in this volume share a commitment to unraveling the mysteries of this entangled life.
Evolution And The Machinery Of Chance
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Author : Marshall Abrams
language : en
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Release Date : 2023-07-11
Evolution And The Machinery Of Chance written by Marshall Abrams and has been published by University of Chicago Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-07-11 with Science categories.
An innovative view of the role of fitness concepts in evolutionary theory. Natural selection is one of the factors responsible for changes in biological populations. Some traits or organisms are fitter than others, and natural selection occurs when there are changes in the distribution of traits in populations because of fitness differences. Many philosophers of biology insist that a trait’s fitness should be defined as an average of the fitnesses of individual members of the population that have the trait. Marshall Abrams argues convincingly against this widespread approach. As he shows, it conflicts with the roles that fitness is supposed to play in evolutionary theory and with the ways that evolutionary biologists use fitness concepts in empirical research. The assumption that a causal kind of fitness is fundamentally a property of actual individuals has resulted in unnecessary philosophical puzzles and years of debate. Abrams came to see that the fitnesses of traits that are the basis of natural selection cannot be defined in terms of the fitnesses of actual members of populations, as philosophers of biology often claim. Rather, it is an overall population-environment system—not actual, particular organisms living in particular environmental conditions—that is the basis of trait fitnesses. Abrams argues that by distinguishing different classes of fitness concepts and the roles they play in the practice of evolutionary biology, we can see that evolutionary biologists’ diverse uses of fitness concepts make sense together and are consistent with the idea that fitness differences cause evolution. Abrams’s insight has broad significance, for it provides a general framework for thinking about the metaphysics of biological evolution and its relations to empirical research. As such, it is a game-changing book for philosophers of biology, biologists who want deeper insight into the nature of evolution, and anyone interested in the applied philosophy of probability.
Philosophy Of The Environment
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Author : Elena Casetta
language : en
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Release Date : 2024-12-30
Philosophy Of The Environment written by Elena Casetta and has been published by Taylor & Francis this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2024-12-30 with Nature categories.
This textbook offers a reasoned and accessible introduction to the philosophy of the environment and the current environmental crisis, designed for scholars and students in both philosophy and the natural and environmental sciences. The volume addresses the history and meanings of the concept of "environment", provides a theory of the relation between living beings and their environments, and tackles a wide spectrum of key philosophical issues related to the environment and the environmental crisis in a straightforward framework and accessible style. The book’s unique approach to environmental philosophy addresses the environment of all living beings and extends beyond environmental ethics to include conceptual history and analysis together with insights from evolutionary and developmental biology, ecology, and environmental and conservation sciences. The book consists of five chapters, each built around a specific thesis drawing upon philosophers and concepts including George Canguilhem, Rachel Carson, Donna Haraway, Lamarck’s and Darwin's evolutionary theories, Humboldt’s theory of nature, and the Gaia hypothesis. The final chapter introduces topics such as environmental denialism and post-natural environmentalism as conceptual tools for better understanding the current ecological crisis. Targeted at students and scholars in both philosophy and the environmental and life sciences, the book distinguishes itself through its approachable style and choice of topics, which are also well suited to junior researchers who seek to better understand the current environmental crisis.
Evolutionary Causation
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Author : Tobias Uller
language : en
Publisher: MIT Press
Release Date : 2019-09-03
Evolutionary Causation written by Tobias Uller and has been published by MIT Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-09-03 with Science categories.
A comprehensive treatment of the concept of causation in evolutionary biology that makes clear its central role in both historical and contemporary debates. Most scientific explanations are causal. This is certainly the case in evolutionary biology, which seeks to explain the diversity of life and the adaptive fit between organisms and their surroundings. The nature of causation in evolutionary biology, however, is contentious. How causation is understood shapes the structure of evolutionary theory, and historical and contemporary debates in evolutionary biology have revolved around the nature of causation. Despite its centrality, and differing views on the subject, the major conceptual issues regarding the nature of causation in evolutionary biology are rarely addressed. This volume fills the gap, bringing together biologists and philosophers to offer a comprehensive, interdisciplinary treatment of evolutionary causation. Contributors first address biological motivations for rethinking evolutionary causation, considering the ways in which development, extra-genetic inheritance, and niche construction challenge notions of cause and process in evolution, and describing how alternative representations of evolutionary causation can shed light on a range of evolutionary problems. Contributors then analyze evolutionary causation from a philosophical perspective, considering such topics as causal entanglement, the commingling of organism and environment, and the relationship between causation and information. Contributors John A. Baker, Lynn Chiu, David I. Dayan, Renée A. Duckworth, Marcus W Feldman, Susan A. Foster, Melissa A. Graham, Heikki Helanterä, Kevin N. Lala, Armin P. Moczek, John Odling-Smee, Jun Otsuka, Massimo Pigliucci, Arnaud Pocheville, Arlin Stoltzfus, Karola Stotz, Sonia E. Sultan, Christoph Thies, Tobias Uller, Denis M. Walsh, Richard A. Watson
Phenotypic Plasticity
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Author : Thomas J. DeWitt
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Release Date : 2004-01-15
Phenotypic Plasticity written by Thomas J. DeWitt and has been published by Oxford University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2004-01-15 with Science categories.
Phenotypic plasticity is the range and process of variation in body plan and physiology. This book pulls together recent theoretical advances in phenotypic plasticity, as influenced by evolution and development. The editors and the chapter authors are among the leaders of this exciting and active subfield. The volume begins with a primer on the basic principles of the subject, and companion chapters on phenotypic plasticity in plants and animals. Of interest to a wide range of researchers on evolution, development, and their interface.
Norms Of Nature
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Author : Paul Sheldon Davies
language : en
Publisher: MIT Press
Release Date : 2003-01-24
Norms Of Nature written by Paul Sheldon Davies and has been published by MIT Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2003-01-24 with Science categories.
The components of living systems strike us as functional-as for the sake of certain ends—and as endowed with specific norms of performance. The mammalian eye, for example, has the function of perceiving and processing light, and possession of this property tempts us to claim that token eyes are supposed to perceive and process light. That is, we tend to evaluate the performance of token eyes against the norm described in the attributed functional property. Hence the norms of nature. What, then, are the norms of nature? Whence do they arise? Out of what natural properties or relations are they constituted? In Norms of Nature, Paul Sheldon Davies argues against the prevailing view that natural norms are constituted out of some form of historical success—usually success in natural selection. He defends the view that functions are nothing more than effects that contribute to the exercise of some more general systemic capacity. Natural functions exist insofar as the components of natural systems contribute to the exercise of systemic capacities. This is so irrespective of the system's history. Even if the mammalian eye had never been selected for, it would have the function of perceiving and processing light, because those are the effects that contribute to the exercise of the visual system. The systemic approach to conceptualizing natural norms, claims Davies, is superior to the historical approach in several important ways. Especially significant is that it helps us understand how the attribution of functions within the life sciences coheres with the methods and ontology of the natural sciences generally.