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Can There Be Stochastic Evolutionary Causes?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Patrick Forber  and
Kenneth Reisman
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Abstract

Do evolutionary processes such as selection and random drift cause evolutionary change, or are they merely convenient ways of describing or summarizing it? Philosophers have lined up on both sides of this question. One recent defense (Reisman and Forber 2005) of the causal status of selection and drift appeals to a manipulability theory of causation. Yet, even if one accepts manipulability, there are still reasons to doubt that genetic drift, in particular, is genuinely causal. We will address two challenges to treating drift as causal within a manipulation framework. We will argue that both challenges ultimately fail, but that they raise interesting and subtle issues about the nature of causation and the differences between selection and drift.

Type
Philosophy of Biology
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 74 , Issue 5: Proceedings of the 2006 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. Part I: Contributed Papers. Edited by Cristina Bicchieri and Jason Alexander , December 2007 , pp. 616 - 627
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

Thanks to audiences at the ‘PBDB1’ Conference and the 2006 PSA Meeting for valuable feedback.

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