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  • Articles  (33)
  • evolution
  • information
  • Springer  (33)
  • Emerald
  • 2015-2019
  • 1990-1994  (33)
  • 1915-1919
  • Philosophy  (26)
  • Mathematics  (4)
  • Sociology  (3)
  • 1
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    “X” meansX: Fodor/Warfield semantics (1994)
    Springer
    Minds and machines 4 (1994), S. 215-231 
    Details
    ISSN: 1572-8641
    Keywords: Meaning ; representation ; disjunction problem ; Twin-Earth ; Fodor ; asymmetric causal dependency ; actual ; naturalized semantics ; information
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Computer Science , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract In an earlier paper, we argued that Fodorian Semantics has serious difficulties. However, we suggested possible ways that one might attempt to fix this. Ted Warfield suggests that our arguments can be deflected and he does this by making the very moves that we suggested. In our current paper, we respond to Warfield's attempts to revise and defend Fodorian Semantics against our arguments that such a semantic theory is both too strong and too weak. To get around our objections, Warfield proposes a modified reading of one of Fodor's conditions and proposes adding a new condition to the theory. We show that neither the modified reading nor the additional condition saves the asymmetric causal dependency approach to naturalized semantics.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00974146
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  • 2
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Can computers carry content ‘inexplicitly’? (1994)
    Springer
    Minds and machines 4 (1994), S. 333-344 
    Details
    ISSN: 1572-8641
    Keywords: Emergence ; content ; information ; representation ; computers
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Computer Science , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract I examine whether it is possible for content relevant to a computer's behavior to be carried without an explicit internal representation. I consider three approaches. First, an example of a chess playing computer carrying ‘emergent’ content is offered from Dennett. Next I examine Cummins’ response to this example. Cummins says Dennett's computer executes a rule which is inexplicitly represented. Cummins describes a process wherein a computer interprets explicit rules in its program, implements them to form a chess-playing device, then this device executes the rules in a way that exhibits them inexplicitly. Though this approach is intriguing, I argue that the chess-playing device cannot exist as imagined. The processes of interpretation and implementation produce explicit representations of the content claimed to be inexplicit. Finally, the Chinese Room argument is examined and shown not to save the notion of inexplicit information. This means the strategy of attributing inexplicit content to a computer which is executing a rule, fails.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00974198
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  • 3
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Bioaltruism reconsidered (1994)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 9 (1994), S. 75-84 
    Details
    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Altruism ; ethics ; ethology ; evolution ; sociobiology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Altruistic behavior is often regarded as sociobiology's most central theoretical problem, but is it? Altruism in biology, bioaltruism, has many meanings, which can be grouped into two categories. The first I will callcommon bioaltruism. It is primarily of ethological relevance. The second,evolutionary bioaltruism, is a special category in evolutionary respects in that it may indeed pose a problem for evolutionary theory. These categories are logically independent. Moreover, both of them are logically different from altruism in its everyday psychological or moral sense. Sociobiological examples of bioaltruistic behavior concern bioaltruism in the first sense only, so the theoretical problem ‘altruism’ is supposed to pose, is indeed nothing but a theoretical problem and the bioaltruism that actually occurs has no evolutionary relevance. Nevertheless, evolutionary theory is relevant to our understanding of the possibility of common bioaltruism, and that possibility — even though bioaltruism is conceptually different from ethical altruism — is relevant for ethicists: it sheds light on what we can ask people to do or not to do.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00849915
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  • 4
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    Ernst Mayr, naturalist: His contributions to systematics and evolution (1994)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 9 (1994), S. 267-327 
    Details
    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: biogeography ; Ernst Mayr ; evolution ; naturalist ; nomenclature ; systematics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Ernst Mayr's scientific career continues strongly 70 years after he published his first scientific paper in 1923. He is primarily a naturalist and ornithologist which has influenced his basic approach in science and later in philosophy and history of science. Mayr studied at the Natural History Museum in Berlin with Professor E. Stresemann, a leader in the most progressive school of avian systematics of the time. The contracts gained through Stresemann were central to Mayr's participation in a three year expedition to New Guinea and The Solomons, and the offer of a position in the Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, beginning in 1931. At the AMNH, Mayr was able to blend the best of the academic traditions of Europe with those of North America in developing a unified research program in biodiversity embracing systematics, biogeography and nomenclature. His tasks at the AMNH were to curate and study the huge collections amassed by the Whitney South Sea Expedition plus the just purchased Rothschild collection of birds. These studies provided Mayr with the empirical foundation essential for his 1942Systematics and the Origin of Species and his subsequent theoretical work in evolutionary biology as well as all his later work in the philosophy and history of science. Without a detailed understanding of Mayr's empirical systematic and biogeographic work, one cannot possibly comprehend fully his immense contributions to evolutionary biology and his later analyses in the philosophy and history of science.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00857938
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  • 5
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    Intentionality, social play, and definition (1994)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 9 (1994), S. 63-74 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Ethology ; cognitive ethology ; play ; intentionality ; evolution ; definition
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Social play is naturally characterized in intentional terms. An evolutionary account of social play could help scientists to understand the evolution of cognition and intentionality. Alexander Rosenberg (1990) has argued that if play is characterized intentionally or functionally, it is not a behavioral phenotype suitable for evolutionary explanation. If he is right, his arguments would threaten many projects in cognitive ethology. We argue that Rosenberg's arguments are unsound and that intentionally and functionally characterized phenotypes are a proper domain for ethological investigation.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00849914
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  • 6
    Electronic Resource
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    The competition controversy in community ecology (1993)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 8 (1993), S. 359-384 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Ecology ; evolution ; competition ; theory testing ; modeling
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract There is a long history of controversy in ecology over the role of competition in determining patterns of distribution and abundance, and over the significance of the mathematical modeling of competitive interactions. This paper examines the controversy. Three kinds of considerations have been involved at one time or another during the history of this debate. There has been dispute about the kinds of regularities ecologists can expect to find, about the significance of evolutionary considerations for ecological inquiry, and about the empirical credentials of theoretical studies of competition. Each of these elements is examined with an eye toward gaining philosophical clarification of the issues involved. In the process, certain shortcomings of contemporary philosophical theories are revealed. In particular, I argue that plausibility arguments based on background considerations are an important part of the model building tradition, but that current accounts of the structure and evaluation of scientific theories do little to illuminate this side of theoretical ecology.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00857684
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  • 7
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    Decision, irreversibility and flexibility: The irreversibility effect re-examined (1993)
    Springer
    Theory and decision 35 (1993), S. 259-276 
    Details
    ISSN: 1573-7187
    Keywords: irreversibility ; flexibility ; irreversibility effect ; information ; gains from information
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Sociology , Economics
    Notes: Abstract In a seminal article C. Henry (1974) presented the irreversibility effect, which pointed out that under uncertainty, the optimal sequence of decisions depends on not only the payoffs, but also the flexibility, in terms of availability of future options, associated with each decision. But the irreversibility effect pertained to certain particular conditions and definitions. In this paper, a more general model is developed to re-examine the notion of an irreversible decision, its relation with flexibility and the irreversibility effect. It is shown through two propositions that the irreversibility effect need not hold always and the notion of irreversibiity can be used only under certain circumstances to derive the optimal sequence of decisions ex-ante.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01075201
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  • 8
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    Life and teleology (1992)
    Springer
    Journal for general philosophy of science 23 (1992), S. 85-103 
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    ISSN: 1572-8587
    Keywords: life ; teleology ; evolution ; reality ; representation ; experience
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Philosophy , Nature of Science, Research, Systems of Higher Education, Museum Science
    Notes: Summary A comprehensive definition of the phenomenon called “life” led to the addition of many dimensions to the natural sciences, and especially the conscious mental dimension. Historical attention is paid not only to those employing the natural philosophical paradigms, but also to evolutionary theories and to the Kantian teleological philosophy. The belief that science can solve the riddle of life is a category of purposal thinking. A revised version of critical teleology is essential for comprehension of life.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01801797
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  • 9
    Electronic Resource
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    Infons as mathematical objects (1992)
    Springer
    Minds and machines 2 (1992), S. 185-201 
    Details
    ISSN: 1572-8641
    Keywords: Constraint ; individuation scheme ; infon ; information ; representation ; type
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Computer Science , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract I argue that the role played by infons in the kind of mathematical theory of information being developed by several workers affiliated to CSLI is analogous to that of the various number systems in mathematics. In particular, I present a mathematical construction of infons in terms of representations and informational equivalences between them. The main theme of the paper arose from an electronic mail exchange with Pat Hayes of Xeroxparc. The exposition derives from a talk I gave at theTheories of Partial Information conference held at the University of Texas at Austin, January 1990.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00704457
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  • 10
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    Mental content and evolutionary explanation (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 1-12 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Cognitive ethology ; mental content ; mental representations ; evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Cognitive ethology is the comparative study of animal cognition from an evolutionary perspective. As a sub-discipline of biology it shares interest in questions concerning the immediate causes and development of behavior. As a part of ethology it is also concerned with questions about the function and evolution of behavior. I examine some recent work in cognitive ethology, and I argue that the notions of mental content and representation are important to enable researchers to answer questions and state generalizations about the function and volution of behavior.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00130160
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  • 11
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    What is hierarchical selection? (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 27-33 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Additivity ; ANOVA ; evolution ; hierarchical selection
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract It has been proposed that natural selection occurs on a hierarchy of levels, of which the organismic level is neither the top nor the bottom. This hypothesis leads to the following practical problem: in general, how does one tell if a given phenomenon is a result of selection on level X or level Y. How does one tell what the units of selection actually are? It is convenient to assume that a unit of selection may be defined as a type of entity for which there exists, among all entities on the same “level” as that entity, an additive component of variance for some specific component F of fitness which does not appear as an additive component of variance in any decomposition of this F among entities at any lower level. But such a definition implicitly assumes that if f(x, y) depends nonadditively on its arguments, there must be interaction between the quantities which x and y represent. This assumption is incorrect. And one cannot avoid this error by speaking of “transformability to additivity” instead of merely “additivity”. A general mathematical formulation of the concepts of interaction and non-interaction is proposed, followed by a correspondingly modified approach to the definition of a unit of selection. The practical difficulty of verifying the presence of hierarchical selection is discussed.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00130162
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  • 12
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    An ecological approach to biosystem thermodynamics (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 35-60 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Action principles ; ecosystem structure ; evolution ; information ; natural selection ; non-equilibrium thermodynamics ; teleology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract The general attributes of ecosystems are examined and a naturally occurring “reference ecosystem” is established, comparable with the “isolated” system of classical thermodynamics. Such an autonomous system with a stable, periodic input of energy is shown to assume certain structural characteristics that have an identifiable thermodynamic basis. Individual species tend to assume a state of “least dissipation”; this is most clearly evident in the dominant species (the species with the best integration of energy acquisition and conservation). It is concluded that ecosystem structure results from the antagonistic interaction of two nearly equal forces. These forces have their origin in the Principle of Most Action (“least dissipation” or “least entropy production”) and the universal Principle of Least Action. “Most action” is contingent on the equipartitioning of the energy available, through uniform interaction of similar individuals. The trend to “Least action” is contingent on increased dissipation attained through increasing diversity and increasing complexity. These principles exhibit a basic asymmetry. Given the operation of these opposing principles over evolutionary time, it is argued that ecosystems originated in the vicinity of thermodynamic equilibrium through the resonant amplification of reversible fluctuations. On account of the basic asymmetry the system was able to evolve away from thermodynamic equilibrium provided that it remained within the vicinity of “ergodynamic equilibrium” (equilibrium maintained by internal work, where the opposing forces are equal and opposite). At the highest level of generalization there appear to be three principles operating: i) maximum association of free-energy and materials; ii) energy conservation (deceleration of the energy flow) through symmetric interaction and increased homogeneity; and iii) the principle of least action which induces acceleration of the energy flow through asymmetrical interaction. The opposition and asymmetry of the two forces give rise to natural selection and evolution.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00130163
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  • 13
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    On the relationship between evolutionary and psychological definitions of altruism and selfishness (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 61-68 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Altruism ; evolution ; group selection ; selfishness
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract I examine the relationship between evolutionary definitions of altruism that are based on fitness effects and psychological definitions that are based on the motives of the actor. I show that evolutionary altruism can be motivated by proximate mechanisms that are psychologically either altruistic or selfish. I also show that evolutionary definitions do rely upon motives as a metaphor in which the outcome of natural selection is compared to the decisions of a psychologically selfish (or altruistic) individual. Ignoring the precise nature of both psychological and evolutionary definitions has obscured many important issues, including the biological roots of psychological altruism.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00130164
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  • 14
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    Evolution, altruism, and the prisoner's dilemma (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 161-175 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Altruism ; evolution ; Prisoner's Dilemma ; sociobiology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract I first argue against Peter Singer's exciting thesis that the Prisoner's Dilemma explains why there could be an evolutionary advantage in making reciprocal exchanges that are ultimately motivated by genuine altruism over making such exchanges on the basis of enlightened long-term self-interest. I then show that an alternative to Singer's thesis — one that is also meant to corroborate the view that natural selection favors genuine altruism, recently defended by Gregory Kavka, fails as well. Finally, I show that even granting Singer's and Kavka's claim about the selective advantage of altruism proper, it is doubtful whether that type of claim can be used in a particular sort of sociobiological argument against psychological egoism.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00129881
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  • 15
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    The evolution of altruism: Correlation, cost, and benefit (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 177-187 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Altruism ; evolution ; game theory ; group selection ; kin selection ; prisoner's dilemma
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract A simple and general criterion is derived for the evolution of altruism when individuals interact in pairs. It is argued that the treatment of this problem in kin selection theory and in game theory are special cases of this general criterion.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00129882
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  • 16
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    Phylogenetic definitions and taxonomic philosophy (1992)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 7 (1992), S. 295-313 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Clade ; class ; composite whole ; definition ; defining property ; essentialism ; evolution ; individual ; intension ; name ; ostensive definition ; phylogeny ; population ; set ; species ; taxon ; taxonomy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract An examination of the post-Darwinian history of biological taxonomy reveals an implicit assumption that the definitions of taxon names consist of lists of organismal traits. That assumption represents a failure to grant the concept of evolution a central role in taxonomy, and it causes conflicts between traditional methods of defining taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. Phylogenetic definitions of taxon names (de Queiroz and Gauthier 1990) grant the concept of common ancestry a central role in the definitions of taxon names and thus constitute an important step in the development of phylogenetic taxonomy. By treating phylogenetic relationships rather than organismal traits as necessary and sufficient properties, phylogenetic definitions remove conflicts between the definitions of taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. The general method of definition represented by phylogenetic definitions of clade names can be applied to the names of other kinds of composite wholes, including populations and biological species. That the names of individuals (composite wholes) can be defined in terms of necessary and sufficient properties provides the foundation for a synthesis of seemingly incompatible positions held by contemporary individualists and essentialists concerning the nature of taxa and the definitions of taxon names.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00129972
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  • 17
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    Minimax, information and ultrapessimism (1992)
    Springer
    Theory and decision 33 (1992), S. 241-252 
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    ISSN: 1573-7187
    Keywords: Minimax principle ; regret ; sequential statistical decisions ; information ; identifiability ; least favorable distributions ; ultrapessimism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Sociology , Economics
    Notes: Abstract Discussing the foundations of the minimax principle, Savage (1954) argued that it is “utterly untenable for statistics” because it is “ultrapessimistic” when applied to negative income, but claimed that such objection is not relevant when the principle is applied to regret. In this paper I rebut the latter claim. I first present an example where ultrapessimism, as Savage understood it, applies to minimax regret but not to minimax negative income. Then, for a sequential decision problems with two terminal acts and a finite number of states of nature, I give necessary and sufficient conditions for a decision rule to be ultrapessimistic, and show that for every payoff table with at least three states, be it in regret form or not, there exist an experiment such that the minimax rule is ultrapessimistic. I conclude with some more general remarks on information and the value of experimentation for a minimax agent.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00133643
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  • 18
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    Evolution: Teleology or chance? (1991)
    Springer
    Journal for general philosophy of science 22 (1991), S. 133-141 
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    ISSN: 1572-8587
    Keywords: evolution ; teleology ; chance ; purpose ; anthropomorphism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Philosophy , Nature of Science, Research, Systems of Higher Education, Museum Science
    Notes: Summary Revaluation of the problem of natural teleology seems an important precondition for elucidating our environmental crisis and for formulating an ‘ecological ethics’, because it calls for a recognition of an intrinsic value in nature and organisms. Therefore, it is necessary to show that the concept of natural teleology is not in contradiction with scientific theories, in particular not with the theory of evolution. In this paper I shall argue that there is a fundamental misunderstanding about the concepts of teleology and chance in modern thinking. This as a result of a radical transformation of the Aristotelian concept of teleology by Christian theologians during the Middle Ages. This confusion resulted in the rejection of teleology from evolution and in an exaggeration of the role of chance. However, not a solution for the problem of teleology is given here, but only an attempt to prove that neither the fossil-record, nor the role of chance in evolution can give adequate arguments for the negation of teleology in evolution. That is not to say that, therefore there exists teleology in evolution, but the problem of teleology in nature cannot, be solved by the scientific theory of evolution, but only be elucidated by philosophical analysis. At the end of the paper it is argued that teleology must be rather presupposed in evolution.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01801253
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  • 19
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    The many uses of ‘belief’ in AI (1991)
    Springer
    Minds and machines 1 (1991), S. 55-73 
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    ISSN: 1572-8641
    Keywords: Belief ; syntax ; propositions ; meaning ; information ; tractability ; degrees of confidence ; dispositions
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Computer Science , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Within AI and the cognitively related disciplines, there exist a multiplicity of uses of ‘belief’. On the face of it, these differing uses reflect differing views about the nature of an objective phenomenon called ‘belief’. In this paper I distinguish six distinct ways in which ‘belief’ is used in AI. I shall argue that not all these uses reflect a difference of opinion about an objective feature of reality. Rather, in some cases, the differing uses reflect differing concerns with special AI applications. In other cases, however, genuine differences exist about the nature of what we pre-theoretically call belief. To an extent the multiplicity of opinions about, and uses of ‘belief’, echoes the discrepant motivations of AI researchers. The relevance of this discussion for cognitive scientists and philosophers arises from the fact that (a) many regard theoretical research within AI as a branch of cognitive science, and (b) even if theoretical AI is not cognitive science, trends within AI influence theories developed within cognitive science. It should be beneficial, therefore, to unravel the distinct uses and motivations surrounding ‘belief’, in order to discover which usages merely reflect differing pragmatic concerns, and which usages genuinely reflect divergent views about reality.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00360579
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  • 20
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    Representations of the Natural System in the Nineteenth century (1991)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 6 (1991), S. 255-274 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Classification ; diagrams ; evolution ; history ; natural history ; natural system ; ornithology ; phylogeny ; representation ; systematics ; taxonomy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract ‘The Natural System’ is the abstract notion of the order in living diversity. The richness and complexity of this notion is revealed by the diversity of representations of the Natural System drawn by ornithologists in the Nineteenth Century. These representations varied in overall form from stars, to circles, to maps, to evolutionary trees and cross-sections through trees. They differed in their depiction of affinity, analogy, continuity, directionality, symmetry, reticulation and branching, evolution, and morphological convergence and divergence. Some representations were two-dimensional, and some were three-dimensional; n-dimensional representations were discussed but never illustrated. The study of diagrammatic representations of the Natural System is made difficult by the frequent failure of authors to discuss them in their texts, and by the consequent problem of distinguishing features which carried meaning from arbitrary features and printing conventions which did not. Many of the systematics controversies of the last thirty years have their roots in the conceptual problems which surrounded the Natural System in the late 1800s, problems which were left unresolved when interest in higher-level systematics declined at the turn of this century.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02426840
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  • 21
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    Complexity and evolution: What everybody knows (1991)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 6 (1991), S. 303-324 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Complexity ; entropy ; evolution ; evolutionary trends ; Herbert Spencer ; progress
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract The consensus among evolutionists seems to be (and has been for at least a century) that the morphological complexity of organisms increases in evolution, although almost no empirical evidence for such a trend exists. Most studies of complexity have been theoretical, and the few empirical studies have not, with the exception of certain recent ones, been especially rigorous; reviews are presented of both the theoretical and empirical literature. The paucity of evidence raises the question of what sustains the consensus, and a number of suggestions are offered, including the possibility that certain cultural and/or perceptual biases are at work. In addition, a shift in emphasis from theoretical to empirical inquiry is recommended for the study of complexity, and guidelines for future empirical studies are proposed.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00132234
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  • 22
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    A semiotical reflection on biology, living signs and artificial life (1991)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 6 (1991), S. 325-340 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Artificial life ; biology ; information ; Peirce ; philosophy of science ; semiotic realism ; semiotics ; tign ; teleology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract It is argued, that theory sf signs, especially in the tradition of the great philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) can inspire the study of central problems in the philosophy of biology. Three such problems are considered: (1) The nature of biology as a science, where a semiotically informed pluralistic approach to the theory of science is introduced. (2) The peculiarity of the general object of biology, where a realistic interpretation of sign- and information-concepts is required to see sign-processes as immanent in nature. (3) The possibility of an artificial construction of life, hereby discussed as a conceptual problem in the present form of the artificial life project and its implied definition of life.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00132235
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  • 23
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    Really taking Darwin and the naturalistic fallacy seriously: An objection to Rottschaefer and Martinsen (1991)
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    Biology and philosophy 6 (1991), S. 433-437 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Ethics ; evolution ; evolutionary ethics ; M. Ruse ; naturalistic fallacy ; supervenience
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Out of a concern to respect the naturalistic fallacy, Ruse (1986) argues for the possibility of causal, but not justificatory, explanations of morality in terms of evolutionary processes. In a discussion of Ruse's work, Rottschaefer and Martinsen (1990) claim that he erroneously limits the explanatory scope of evolutionary concepts, because he fails to see that one can have objective moral properties without committing either of two forms of the naturalistic fallacy, if one holds that moral properties supervene on non-moral properties. In this short paper I argue that Rottschaefer and Martinsen's solution fails. If one takes moral properties to supervene on non-moral properties, then either one ends up committing one of the two forms of the naturalistic fallacy or else one is left postulating unbelievable brute metaphysical facts.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00128712
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    The insufficience of supervenient explanations of moral actions: Really taking Darwin and the naturalistic fallacy seriously (1991)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 6 (1991), S. 439-445 
    Details
    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Ethics ; evolution ; evolutionary ethics ; M. Ruse ; naturalistic fallacy ; supervenience ; supervenience explanations
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract In a recent paper in this journal (Rottschaefer and Martinsen 1990) we have proposed a view of Darwinian evolutionary metaethics that we believe improves upon Michael Ruse's (e.g., Ruse 1986) proposals by claiming that there are evolutionary based objective moral values and that a Darwinian naturalistic account of the moral good in terms of human fitness can be given that avoids the naturalistic fallacy in both its definitional and derivational forms while providing genuine, even if limited, justifications for substantive ethical claims. Jonathan Barrett (this issue) has objected to our proposal contending that we cannot hold for the reality of supervenient moral properties without either falling foul of the naturalistic fallacy or suffering the consequences of postulating inexplicable moral properties. In reply, we show that Barrett's explicit arguments that we commit either the definitional or derivational form of the naturalistic fallacy fail and that his naturalistic intuitions that supervenience explanations of moral properties by nonmoral properties force us into what we call the explanatory form of the naturalistic fallacy also fail. Positively, his objections help us to clarify the nature of the naturalistic fallacy within an evolutionary based naturalistic ethics and to point out the proper role of both supervenience explanations and moral explanations in such an ethics.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00128713
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    Communication of ambiguous risk information (1991)
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    Theory and decision 31 (1991), S. 159-173 
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    ISSN: 1573-7187
    Keywords: ambiguity ; uncertainty ; Ellsberg Paradox ; information
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Sociology , Economics
    Notes: Abstract This paper reports on the responses of 646 individuals to environmental risk information involving different forms of risk ambiguity. Recipients of more than one set of risk information do not simply average the risk levels provided. Rather, a variety of aspects of the nature of the risks that are communicated influence their probabilistic beliefs. Individuals' perceptions of the risk levels to which they are exposed are likely to be greater: (i) for more ambiguous risks, (ii) for risks for which the unfavorable risk evidence is presented last even when there is no temporal order, (iii) for risks for which the most unfavorable risk studies have been performed most recently, and (iv) for risks where there is asymmetry in the risk ambiguity that imposes substantial potential downside risks. Although these effects are modest for the median individual, the potential for extreme responses that reflect only the most adverse or the most favorable piece of information provided is quite prevalent. These findings are of interest more generally in that they indicate how individuals form their risk perceptions in the presence of risk ambiguity.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00132991
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    On the efficiency of Gaussian adaptation (1991)
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    Journal of optimization theory and applications 71 (1991), S. 589-597 
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    ISSN: 1573-2878
    Keywords: Mathematical programming ; Monte Carlo optimization ; stochastic adaptation ; Gaussian adaptation ; evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Mathematics
    Notes: Abstract Gaussian Adaptation (GA) is a stochastic process that adapts a Gaussian distribution to a region or set of feasible points in parameter space. As a result of the adaptation, GA becomes a maximum dispersion process extending the sampling over the largest possible volume in parameter space while keeping the probability of finding feasible points at a suitable level. For such a process, a general measure of efficiency is defined and an efficiency theorem is proved.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00941405
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    Study on the complicated dynamical behaviors of nonlinear ecosystems (III) (1991)
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    Applied mathematics and mechanics 12 (1991), S. 647-653 
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    ISSN: 1573-2754
    Keywords: ecosystems ; nonlinearity ; assemble ; attractor ; information ; synergetics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics , Mathematics , Physics
    Notes: Abstract This paper is a continuous study of references [1–2]. At first, we introduce the concept of assembles of ecosystems, and then discuss macro- and micro-synergetical methods for ecology study. Combining the two methods, by use of the macroscopic data (observable) outputted from the ecosystems, we can construct their GGLE, master their information changes between, before and after the generalized phase changes (e.g. community successions), and find out the action mechanisms of microscopic factors on macroscopic results. This may be a new approach to the study of action mechanisms of complex ecosystems.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02018946
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    Basic rules of change (1990)
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    Journal for general philosophy of science 21 (1990), S. 231-257 
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    ISSN: 1572-8587
    Keywords: basic rules ; change ; discipline-neutral ; evolution ; analogy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Philosophy , Nature of Science, Research, Systems of Higher Education, Museum Science
    Notes: Summary A small step is made in the direction of defining some general basic rules which can serve as a framework for research in several fields of the social sciences. The method of working with analogies asks for a more accurate approach. Starting from the concept of evolution in the form of a basic rule another basic rule is formulated. This rule shows what are the most important factors in long term developments and what types of development one can expect.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01801037
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    Modeling in the museum: On the role of remnant models in the work of Joseph Grinnell (1990)
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    Biology and philosophy 5 (1990), S. 3-36 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Material models ; semantic view of theories ; natural history ; ecology ; evolution ; museums ; Joseph Grinnell
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Accounts of the relation between theories and models in biology concentrate on mathematical models. In this paper I consider the dual role of models as representations of natural systems and as a material basis for theorizing. In order to explicate the dual role, I develop the concept of a remnant model, a material entity made from parts of the natural system(s) under study. I present a case study of an important but neglected naturalist, Joseph Grinnell, to illustrate the extent to which mundane practices in a museum setting constitute theorizing. I speculate that historical and sociological analyses of institutions can play a specific role in the philosophical analysis of model-building strategies.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02423831
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    Really taking Darwin seriously: An alternative to Michael Ruse's Darwinian metaethics (1990)
    Springer
    Biology and philosophy 5 (1990), S. 149-173 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Darwinian ethics ; ethics ; evolution ; evolutionary ethics ; M. Ruse ; naturalistic fallacy ; sociobiology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Michael Ruse has proposed in his recent book Taking Darwin Seriously and elsewhere a new Darwinian ethics distinct from traditional evolutionary ethics, one that avoids the latter's inadequate accounts of the nature of morality and its failed attempts to provide a naturalistic justification of morality. Ruse argues for a sociobiologically based account of moral sentiments, and an evolutionary based casual explanation of their function, rejecting the possibility of ultimate ethical justification. We find that Ruse's proposal distorts, overextends and weakens both Darwinism and naturalism. So we propose an alternative Darwinian metaethics that both remedies the problems in Ruse's proposal and shows how a Darwinian naturalistic account of the moral good in terms of human fitness avoids the naturalistic fallacy and can provide genuine, even if limited, justifications for substantive ethical claims. Thus, we propose to really take Darwin seriously.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00127485
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    Evolved ethics re-examined: The theory of Robert J. Richards (1990)
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    Biology and philosophy 5 (1990), S. 451-457 
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    ISSN: 1572-8404
    Keywords: Auschwitz ; biology ; ethics ; evolution ; moral theory ; naturalistic fallacy ; Richards
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Philosophy
    Notes: Conclusion Richards's theory, then, fails on three counts. By illegitimately importing a premise from outside of the theory of evolution in order to construct a valid argument, Richards has failed to achieve his objective of deriving a moral theory exclusively from biological facts. By sliding from a causal use of “ought” to a moral one, Richards commits the fallacy of ambiguity. And by insisting that action from the motive of altruism is moral while claiming that an ethical theory which justifies Hitler's camps must be judged false, Richards has falsified his own ethical theory.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02207383
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    The species censorship problem: A general solution (1990)
    Springer
    Mathematical geology 22 (1990), S. 95-106 
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    ISSN: 1573-8868
    Keywords: evolution ; extinction ; macroevolution ; probability ; species longevity
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Mathematics
    Notes: Abstract The longevities of species constituting a statistical population have an underlying distribution whose form and parametric values reflect probabilities of origination and extinction through time. In the case that a part of the population is extant, the form of distribution and its parameters cannot be estimated directly from the longevity data without bias. Longevities of extant “censored” species are truncated and thus do not statistically represent the underlying distribution. The remaining “uncensored” species do not represent the true relative abundances of longevities. These biases can be defined from the probability densities for species longevitys and intervalr between successive originations of species. For realistic densities ofs andr, species with an intermediate longevity are preferentially censored. This simple, general result arises because the probability of censoring a species increases with its longevity, whereas the probability of censoring a given longevity varies with its relative abundance.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00890299
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    A Bayesian/maximum-entropy view to the spatial estimation problem (1990)
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    Mathematical geology 22 (1990), S. 763-777 
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    ISSN: 1573-8868
    Keywords: spatial estimation ; entropy ; Bayes law ; information ; geostatistics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Mathematics
    Notes: Abstract The purpose of this paper is to stress the importance of a Bayesian/maximum-entropy view toward the spatial estimation problem. According to this view, the estimation equations emerge through a process that balances two requirements: High prior information about the spatial variability and high posterior probability about the estimated map. The first requirement uses a variety of sources of prior information and involves the maximization of an entropy function. The second requirement leads to the maximization of a so-called Bayes function. Certain fundamental results and attractive features of the proposed approach in the context of the random field theory are discussed, and a systematic spatial estimation scheme is presented. The latter satisfies a variety of useful properties beyond those implied by the traditional stochastic estimation methods.
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    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00890661
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