Discussion of "Four Case Studies on Chance in Evolution": Philosophical Themes and Questions.

The four case studies on chance in evolution provide a rich source for further philosophical analysis. Among the issues raised are the following: Are there different conceptions of chance at work, or is there a common underlying conception? How can a given concept of chance be distinguished from oth...

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Publicado en:Philosophy of Science Vol. 73; no. 5; pp. 678 - 688
Autor principal: Millstein, Roberta L.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Dec2006
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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Sumario:The four case studies on chance in evolution provide a rich source for further philosophical analysis. Among the issues raised are the following: Are there different conceptions of chance at work, or is there a common underlying conception? How can a given concept of chance be distinguished from other chance concepts and from nonchance concepts? How can the occurrence of a given chance process be distinguished empirically from nonchance processes or other chance processes? What role does chance play in evolutionary theory? I argue that in order to answer these questions, a careful distinction between process and outcome must be made; however, the purpose of this essay is not to answer these questions definitively, but rather to elaborate on them and to provide a starting point for further discussion.