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This sweeping discussion of the philosophy of evolutionary biology is based on the revolutionary idea that species are not kinds of organisms but wholes composed of organisms.
This sweeping discussion of the philosophy of evolutionary biology is based on the author's revolutionary idea that species are not kinds of organisms but wholes composed of organisms-individuals in the broadest ontological sense. Although the book's primary focus is on species and speciation, it deals with a wide variety of other fundamental units and basic processes and provides a reexamination of the role of classification in biology and other sciences.
In explaining his individuality thesis, Michael T. Ghiselin provides extended discussions of such philosophical topics as definition, the reality of various kinds of groups, and how we classify traits and processes. He develops and applies the implications for general biology and other sciences and makes the case that a better understanding of species and of classification in general puts biologists and paleontologists in a much better position to understand nature in general, and such processes as extinction in particular.
"As important as Michael Ghiselin's work has been, he is an excellent example of someone who really has not received the attention and acclaim that his work deserves. The most innovative scientists and philosophers think highly of his work and cite it frequently, but too often the larger body of scholars is aware of only bits and pieces. This book will set things straight. Ghiselin has been preparing to write this book all his life. It integrates all of the various aspects of his research into a single, unified, and impressive whole." — David L. Hull, Dressler Professor in the Humanities, Northwestern University
"…Ghiselin's book has an exceptional intellectual sharpness for a treatise on biology. Almost every page offers an original insight or penetrating argument … there is no 'metaphysical book' more bracing for the philosophy of biology. It is the only one that evolutionary biologists and systematists simply must read." — ISIS
"This book will be highly praised by some readers and viciously attacked by others. There is no other such comprehensive treatment in the available literature. The excellent, very extensive cross-references are a particular virtue. The crucial literature is cited for virtually every controversial issue. Thus the book is a most useful introduction to the covered field." — Ernst Mayr, Harvard University
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Beyond Language
3. What an Individual Is
4. What an Individual Is Not
5. Some Definitions of 'Definition'
6. Definitions of 'Species' and Some Other Terms
7. Some Alternatives to the Biological Species Concept
8. Objections to the Individuality Thesis
9. Working Out the Analogies
10. Why Do Species Exist?
11. Objectives and Subjective Systems
12. Natural and Artificial Systems
13. Characters and Homologies
14. Laws of Nature
15. The Principles of Historical Inference
16. Embryology as History and as Law
17. The Artifactual Basis of Macroevolution
18. Toward a Real History of Life
Appendix: Aphorisms, Summary and Glossographic
References
Index