Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?

Abstract There is something distinctively different about explanation in the biological sciences, as opposed to explanation in the physical sciences. In the former one has functional arguments, arguments making reference to what Aristotle called “final causes.” As in: “...

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Autor principal: Ruse,Michael
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Universidad de Valparaíso. Facultad de Humanidades .Instituto de Filosofía. 2019
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Acceso en línea:http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0719-42422019000200009
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spelling oai:scielo:S0719-424220190002000092020-08-18Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?Ruse,Michael Stegosaurus final cause adaptation Charles Darwin natural selection Abstract There is something distinctively different about explanation in the biological sciences, as opposed to explanation in the physical sciences. In the former one has functional arguments, arguments making reference to what Aristotle called “final causes.” As in: “The function of the plates on the back of the Stegosaurus was to keep the body at a constant temperature.” Since the Scientific Revolution, such explanations have been forbidden in the physical sciences. Does this then mean that biology is second rate, as is suggested by many including Immanuel Kant? It is argued that the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection explains why there is need of functional explanation in biology and that once this point is grasped, there is no reason to judge biology second rate.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessUniversidad de Valparaíso. Facultad de Humanidades .Instituto de Filosofía. Revista de humanidades de Valparaíso n.14 20192019-12-01text/htmlhttp://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0719-42422019000200009en10.22370/rhv2019iss14pp9-25
institution Scielo Chile
collection Scielo Chile
language English
topic Stegosaurus
final cause
adaptation
Charles Darwin
natural selection
spellingShingle Stegosaurus
final cause
adaptation
Charles Darwin
natural selection
Ruse,Michael
Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
description Abstract There is something distinctively different about explanation in the biological sciences, as opposed to explanation in the physical sciences. In the former one has functional arguments, arguments making reference to what Aristotle called “final causes.” As in: “The function of the plates on the back of the Stegosaurus was to keep the body at a constant temperature.” Since the Scientific Revolution, such explanations have been forbidden in the physical sciences. Does this then mean that biology is second rate, as is suggested by many including Immanuel Kant? It is argued that the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection explains why there is need of functional explanation in biology and that once this point is grasped, there is no reason to judge biology second rate.
author Ruse,Michael
author_facet Ruse,Michael
author_sort Ruse,Michael
title Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
title_short Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
title_full Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
title_fullStr Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
title_full_unstemmed Why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
title_sort why did the stegosaurus have plates, or is biology second-rate because it thinks in terms of ends?
publisher Universidad de Valparaíso. Facultad de Humanidades .Instituto de Filosofía.
publishDate 2019
url http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0719-42422019000200009
work_keys_str_mv AT rusemichael whydidthestegosaurushaveplatesorisbiologysecondratebecauseitthinksintermsofends
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