MACMILLAN Empiricism, Naturalism and the Metaphysics of Biology: Taking a Stance

Evolutionary biology raises a number of fascinating metaphysical questions, i.e. questions about the fundamental structure of the living world: Are species real? Are species individuals or natural kinds? Do biological kinds have essences? Is there design and teleology in the natural world? At what level does natural selection act? Is reductionism in biology correct, or are there emergent properties in biology? Is function prior to structure or structure prior to function in the natural world? This book is an exploration these sorts of questions from a particular metaphilosophical standpoint, employing the concept of a philosophical stance - a cluster of values, attitudes, goals, commitments and policies. The book argues that the way one answers these metaphysical questions is bound up with the type of philosophical stance one adopts. This means that the way we understand the structure of the biological world depends not just on the scientific evidence, but also on the values, attitudes and commitments that shape the way we interpret and respond to that evidence. This has significant implications for the relation between facts and values, and between science and philosophy. Empiricism, Naturalism and the Metaphysics of Biology is essential reading for all scholars and researchers in the philosophy of biology, metaphilosophy and the philosophy of science.