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Evolvers are Individuals: Extension of the Species as Individuals Claim

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What the Philosophy of Biology Is

Part of the book series: Nijhoff International Philosophy Series ((NIPS,volume 32))

Abstract

In what are almost asides Ghiselin (1974, 1981), Hull (1976), Holsinger (1984), and Williams (1985) have all claimed not only that species are individuals but that populations are individuals. This larger claim has been lost in the glare of dispute over whether species are individuals. Part of the reason for this neglect is that the term ‘population’, although central to population biology, is considerably more amorphous than the term ‘species’ and it is thus considerably more difficult to dispute any claims about it. But if the individuality of species is important because of what it tells us about the way they function in biological laws (as Hull (1976, 1981, 1987) assserts), then the individuality of populations should also be understood so that we can understand how they function in biological laws.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Science and Culture, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19711, USA

    Mary B. Williams

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  1. Mary B. Williams
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Michael Ruse

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Williams, M.B. (1989). Evolvers are Individuals: Extension of the Species as Individuals Claim. In: Ruse, M. (eds) What the Philosophy of Biology Is. Nijhoff International Philosophy Series, vol 32. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1169-7_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1169-7_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7020-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1169-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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