November 19, at 13:00 (Argentine time)
+info: info@sadaf.org.ar o anfibiogrupo@gmail.com
To gain access to the conference, please register through this link: https://forms.gle/1xp2q5LSgAvLodzG8
Abstract
Philosophers have recently been debating about whether – and in what sense – natural selection can be construed as a “mechanism.” In order to provide a surer footing for this dispute, I offer here a clarification of the technical sense of the notion of “selective mechanism” used by evolutionary biologists. More specifically, I argue that, when they are looking for the selective mechanism involved in a selection process, evolutionary biologists try to identify: a) a “performance trait” trait that serves as a mediator for the causal influence of the focal trait on reproductive success; b) a “selective agent” that serves as a moderator of the causal influence of the focal trait on the relevant performance trait. I use empirical studies of selection in order to show how these two notions are used in tandem in practice. I also insist on definitional issues concerning the notion of “performance trait,” showing that, despite the fact that some biologists identify such performance traits with “functions” or “functional capabilities,” there are biological and philosophical reasons for resisting such a move.
Ciprian Jeler is a researcher at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania. He is a philosopher of biology, focusing especially on foundational issues in evolutionary biology (e.g. the theory of natural selection, multilevel selection theory). His work has been published in journals such as Synthese, Erkenntnis, Biology & Philosophy, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences and Biological Theory.