Synopses & Reviews
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. In their book, the authors take a fresh look at the life sciences and their philosophy from a strictly realist and emergentist-naturalist perspective. They outline a unified and science-oriented philosophical framework that enables them to clarify many foundational and philosophical issues in biology. Thus, this book should be of interest to both life scientists and philosophers and is suitable as a textbook for courses at the advanced levels as well as for independent study.
Review
"Herausgekommen ist ein Buch, das zum Nachdenken herausfordert - und das sollte es ja auch! ...außerordentlich souverän abgefaßt und inhaltsreich. Man kann sich nur wünschen, daß das Buch möglichst viele Leser unter den Biologen finden möge." Biologie in unserer Zeit "Als eine gründliche Darstellung einer wissenschaftstheoretischen Analyse der theoretischen Biologie, als Quelle für Ideen und Literatur möge das Buch viele Leser finden."
Review
"...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 Evolution
Review
"...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 Evolution
Table of Contents
Philosophical Fundamentals: Ontology.- Semantics and Logic.- Epistemology.- Fundamental Issues in Biophilosophy: Life.- Ecology.- Psychobiology.- Systematics.- Developmental Biology.- Evolutionary Biology.- Teleology.- Concluding Remarks