Philosophy of Biology (Dimensions of Philosophy) - Softcover

Sober, Elliott

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198751362 ISBN 13: 9780198751366

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 1993

Synopsis

The philosophy of biology has considerable implications for our understanding of the kind of beings we are. Perhaps because of this, it has been an area of rapid development and considerable controversy in recent years. This authoritative textbook offers a sophisticated but accessible guide to the traditional themes and the recent debates, assuming no prior training in philosophy or biology on the part of the reader.

The central subject of the philosophy of biology is evolutionary theory. Professor Sober gives a clear account of the structure and explanatory significance of the theory, and considers the evidence for it; his discussion ranges over creationism, sociobiology, teleology, and the issue of nature versus nurture.

About this title

About the Author:

Elliott Sober is Hans Reichenbach Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is editor of Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology: An Anthology and author of The Nature of Selection: Evolutionary Theory in Philosophical Focus, as well as many papers on the philosophy of science and of biology. In 1991 he was awarded the Lakatos Award for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science for his book Reconstructing the Past: Parsimony, Evolution, and Interference .

From the Back Cover:

Dimensions of Philosophy is designed for the next generation of philosophers and their students. It will present some of our most distinguished philosophers interpreting the traditional issues of philosophy for the 1990s.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0198751362
• ISBN 13: 9780198751366
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 250