How Biology Shapes Philosophy: New Foundations for Naturalism

367 Pages·2017·2.51 MB·English

by  David Livingstone Smith

HowBiologyShapes Philosophy
HowBiologyShapesPhilosophyisaseminalcontributiontotheemerging
fieldofbiophilosophy.Itbringstogetherworkbyphilosopherswhodraw
on biology to address traditional and not-so-traditional philosophical
questions and concerns. Thirteen essays by leading figures in the field
explore the biological dimensions of ethics, metaphysics, epistemology,
gender, semantics, rationality, representation, and consciousness, as well
as the misappropriation of biology by philosophers, allowing readers to
interrogatecriticallytherelevanceofbiologyforphilosophy.Bothrigorous
and accessible, the essays illuminate philosophy and help us to acquire
a deeper understanding of the human condition. This volume will be of
interesttophilosophers,biologists,socialscientists,andotherreaderswith
aninterestinbringingscienceandthehumanitiestogether.
davidlivingstonesmithisProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversity
of New England. His most recent book is Less Than Human: Why
WeDemean,EnslaveandExterminateOthers(2011).

How Biology Shapes
Philosophy
New Foundations for Naturalism
david livingstone smith
UniversityofNewEngland,Biddeford,Maine
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107055834
©CambridgeUniversityPress2017
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
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permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2017
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Smith,DavidLivingstone,1953–editor.
Howbiologyshapesphilosophy:newfoundationsfor
naturalism/[editedby]DavidLivingstoneSmith.
NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016.|Includesindex.
LCCN2016026630|ISBN9781107055834
LCSH:Naturalism.|Philosophyandscience.|Biology.
LCCB828.2.H692016|DDC113/.8–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016026630
ISBN978-1-107-05583-4Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
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accurateorappropriate.
ForMaxwellMacFarlandSmith
Welcometothebiosphere!
Hewhounderstandsbaboonwoulddomoretowards
metaphysicsthanLocke.
–CharlesDarwin
Contents
ListofFigures pageix
ListofContributors x
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction:Biophilosophy 1
david livingstone smith
1 DarwinandtheOverdueDemiseofEssentialism 9
daniel c. dennett
2 DarwinismasPhilosophy:CantheUniversalAcid
BeContained? 23
alexander rosenberg
3 AnimalEvolutionandtheOriginsofExperience 51
peter godfrey-smith
4 Neurophilosophy 72
patricia churchland
5 Teleosemantics 95
david papineau
6 TheMethodologicalArgumentforInformational
Teleosemantics 121
karen neander
7 Nature’sPurposesandMine 141
ronald de sousa
8 BiologyandtheTheoryofRationality 161
samir okasha
9 EvolutionandEthicalLife 184
philip kitcher
vii
viii Contents
10 HumanNature 204
edouard machery
11 APostgenomicPerspectiveonSexandGender 227
john dupre´
12 BiophilosophyofRace 247
luc faucher
13 HowPhilosophers“Learn”fromBiology–
ReductionistandAntireductionist“Lessons” 276
richard n. boyd
References 302
Index 342
Figures
1 Arepresentationofsomeearlybranchingsintheanimalpart
ofthetreeoflifewithdates(inmillionsofyears,nottoscale)
tentativelyassociatedwithsomeevents.Namesalongthetop
designatesomeofthemaingroupswithinanimals.
Theitalicizedandcapitalizedlabelsshowtheinitial
appearanceofbroadkindsoforganismsimportanttothis
chapter.Firstistheevolutionofmetazoa,oranimals;then
neuralia,animalswithnervoussystems(orperhapsa
subsetoftheseanimals[seethemaintext]);thenbilaterians,
animalswithbilaterallysymmetricalbodies,including
ourselves. page57
2 Furthereventsinanimalevolution.Manygroupsarenot
included.ThelowershadedbandmarkstheEdiacaran(E),
andtheupperbandmarkstheCambrian(C).Genetic
evidencesuggeststhatvariousfamiliaranimalgroups
branchedofffromeachotherintheEdiacaran,thoughwe
havelittlefossilrecordofthemthere. 62
3 Partoftheanimalbranchofthetreeoflife,withtheshading
withinbranchesontheleftshowingthelocationofhighlevels
ofsensorimotorandcognitivecomplexitywithinsome
groupsinthoselineages.(Othergroupsareomittedto
simplifythefigure.)ThebracketsmarktheEdiacaran(E)and
theCambrian(C). 64
ix