Description
Book SynopsisHow Biology Shapes Philosophy is a unique collection of essays by leading thinkers showing how biology illuminates philosophy and helps us acquire a deeper understanding of the human condition. Both rigorous and highly accessible, it will be of interest to philosophers, biologists and social scientists, as well as non-academics.
Trade Review'The essays cover a wide and felicitous range of topics … The contributors are a virtual Who's Who of contemporary philosophers working in the field: Daniel C. Dennett, Philip Kitcher, Patricia Churchland, Samir Okasha, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Karen Neander, and others … Highly recommended.' Choice
'I was excited to receive and read this book with its stellar cast of contributors. The book is worth the read - many chapters are indeed interesting and informative as standalone pieces and some will prove to be helpful introductions … [It] should serve the profession well as a stimulating and often enthusiastic foray into the overlap between biology and philosophy.' Anton Killin, The Philosophical Quarterly
'… it's a volume that … will surely provide something of interest for nearly every philosophical reader.' Shane N. Glackin, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Table of Contents1. Biophilosophy David Livingstone Smith; 2. Darwin and the overdue demise of essentialism Daniel C. Dennett; 3. Darwinism as philosophy: can the universal acid be contained? Alexander Rosenberg; 4. Animal evolution and the origins of experience Peter Godfrey-Smith; 5. Neurophilosophy Patricia Churchland; 6. Teleosemantics David Papineau; 7. The methodological argument for informational teleosemantics Karen Neander; 8. Nature's purposes and mine Ronald De Sousa; 9. Biology and the theory of rationality Samir Okasha; 10. Evolution and ethical life Philip Kitcher; 11. Human nature Edouard Machery; 12. A postgenomic perspective on sex and gender John Dupré; 13. Biophilosophy of race Luc Faucher; 14. How philosophers 'learn' from biology: reductionist and anti-reductionist 'lessons' Richard N. Boyd.
