Foundations of Biophilosophy [Paperback]

Over the past three decades, the philosophy of biology has emerged from the shadow of the philosophy of physics to become a respectable and thriving philosophical subdiscipline. The authors take a fresh look at the life sciences and the philosophy of biology from a strictly realist and emergentist-naturalist perspective. They outline a unified and science-oriented philosophical framework that enables the clarification of many foundational and philosophical issues in biology. This book will be of interest both to life scientists and philosophers.Over the past three decades, the philosophy of biology has emerged from the shadow of the philosophy of physics to become a respectable and thriving philosophical subdiscipline. The authors take a fresh look at the life sciences and the philosophy of biology from a strictly realist and emergentist-naturalist perspective. They outline a unified and science-oriented philosophical framework that enables the clarification of many foundational and philosophical issues in biology. This book will be of interest both to life scientists and philosophers.I Philosophical Fundamentals.- 1 Ontological Fundamentals.- 2 Semantical and Logical Fundamentals.- 3 Epistemological Fundamentals.- II Fundamental Issues in Biophilosophy.- 4 Life.- 5 Ecology.- 6 Psychobiology.- 7 Systematics.- 8 Developmental Biology.- 9 Evolutionary Theory.- 10 Teleology.- 11 Concluding Remarks.- References.- Name Index. ...admirably wide coverage of the subject. Nature
...an extremely valuable, lucid and stimulating book. The authors have set the standard of biophilosophy. Trends in Ecology and EvolutionOver the past three decades, the philosophy of biology has emerged from the shadow of the philosophy of physics to become a respectable and thriving philosophical subdiscipline. In their book, the authors take a fresh look at the life sciences and their philosol3: