IS NATURAL SELECTION A CHIMERA? REFLECTIONS ON THE ‘SURVIVAL’ OF A PRINCIPLE
Abstract My objective is to discuss the persistence of the notion of natural selection in the biological sciences, exploring the fact that: (1) this notion, just like the term culture in anthropology, is historically an inaugural concept in its particular scientific field, and, insofar as both posse...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2017 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Institución: | Associação Brasileira de Antropologia |
| Repositorio: | Vibrant |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:scielo:S1809-43412017000300200 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-43412017000300200 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | natural selection biology randomness and teleology |
| Sumario: | Abstract My objective is to discuss the persistence of the notion of natural selection in the biological sciences, exploring the fact that: (1) this notion, just like the term culture in anthropology, is historically an inaugural concept in its particular scientific field, and, insofar as both possess a value of heuristic delimitation, both thus came to be considered as explanatory concepts, although today they may be more widely accepted as descriptive in kind; (2) this persistence seems to be equally linked to the fact that the term combines randomness and teleology, but without foregrounding the inherent contradiction; (3) the anthropomorphic metaphors generally used in the description of biological processes, by attributing intentionality to beings lacking in self-determination, presume the existence of a nature defined by processes oriented towards precise ends, endorsing the finalism that, I believe, underlies the idea of natural selection; (4) and, finally, I think that ‘culture’ and ‘natural selection’ correspond to disciplinary labels - for social anthropology and biology respectively - that arose in Victorian Britain, as defined by the Great Divide, but they no longer have explanatory power. |
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