Questions tagged [philosophy-of-biology]
The philosophy-of-biology tag has no usage guidance.
73 questions
11
votes
10
answers
1k
views
Do you need to know the exact definition of a word to correctly apply it?
I was just wondering whether it was necessary to lay out the full definition of a word in order to competently apply it to things, or to know it applies to things.
For example, "embryos are ...
- 319
5
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Are there any fallacies in arguments for design from DNA? [closed]
DNA frequently comes up in discussions with theists about God and design (for context, I currently identify as agnostic). It is often compared to concepts from computer science, such as programming ...
- 4,246
11
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What made scientists think that chemistry is reducible to physics and when did that happen?
What I mean by reduction in this context is the following: suppose you are analyzing a simple event like one object striking another in space. At the macroscopic level one, you can describe this event ...
- 13.1k
6
votes
1
answer
163
views
Sheldrake's Fields as Formal Causes
Why do we not consider fields as formal causes, especially in light of Rupert Sheldrake's analysis of morphogenetic fields? How does Sheldrake's hypothesis of formative causation challenge our ...
- 2,241
3
votes
0
answers
54
views
Is consciousness a means of our species or a consequence of accumulated knowledge? [closed]
Consciousness for me is you being conscious of being in a body. It separates from the human body, for me, consciousness is the "being" of the "human being". So, is it a means of ...
- 59
1
vote
2
answers
129
views
Does P=NP affect evolution?
One way to model evolution is to say here are a bunch of algorithms which have a particular probability distribution as a subject to thermodynamics in the physical world as processes. Then we allow ...
- 2,324
4
votes
2
answers
100
views
The concept of evolution as a synthetic tool in science?
Darwin’s theory, notably after the update by the Modern Synthesis from the 20th century, developed into the main paradigm of today’s biology.
It is not only a synthesis of different results which ...
- 42.4k
6
votes
3
answers
183
views
What is Darwin’s impact on modern thought?
The question refers to a paper by Ernst Mayr, who was an eminent biologist on the field of the modern theory of evolution, Modern Synthesis. Mayr introduced and answered the title question in a short ...
- 42.4k
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
Has there been any biological underpinnings of intuition?
So I know relevance (as I think of it) is a subset of our lightcone (for lack of a better word/analogy our experience). I suspect intuition is some kind of subset of relevance and union of our ...
- 2,324
5
votes
8
answers
3k
views
Is it justified to communicate one’s feelings regarding someone’s abortion decision? [closed]
Note-1: Due to the question being subjective and opinion based nature, as well as due to it is touching a controversial issue, I have voted to close my own question, with keeping the existing ...
user72899
2
votes
2
answers
162
views
Where do morals come from? (Specifically someone who doesn't belive in God) [duplicate]
If someone doesn't believe in a God that gives Objective morals, where do they get their morals from? If life is this straightforward then no objective morality or even truth can be claimed. So why do ...
- 317
5
votes
10
answers
4k
views
Is it possible that non-living systems possess consciousness?
This relates to the physical nature of matter, not to metaphysics. I cannot find a robust, universal definition of consciousness, so perhaps the question is meaningless. I am thinking of the behaviour ...
- 3,025
1
vote
4
answers
252
views
A circularity in Richard Dawkins's book "The Blind Watchmaker" regarding a definition of life
I wanted to put this question in the biology stack exchange, but some of my questions there have been downvoted. In Richard Dawkins's book "The Blind Watchmaker", in the first chapter, says &...
- 8,628
4
votes
3
answers
339
views
Are the body parts of living beings, considered living beings?
Consider a living being, for example, us humans. The body of this living being is composed of various components such as heart, brain, kidney, etc. Now the question is whether these components ...
user63754
0
votes
1
answer
171
views
How could we disprove the notion that society is a conscious entity?
Humans are made up of billions of cells.
You and I are human, and we can perceive our existence.
Cells and their consciousness can be debatable, but they indeed operate in a way that indicates they ...
- 149
0
votes
0
answers
52
views
Are brains geometrically equivalent to three-dimensional Venn diagrams?
I had a coworker who was kind of obsessed with Christopher Langan's supposed "theory of everything," and one article of evidence he introduced was his thought that the way our eyes are ...
- 22.5k
0
votes
3
answers
247
views
Are humans still bipedal if a child is born without legs? [closed]
I am aware of a type philosophical argument that relies on a single counterexample to falsify an absolute statement:
All swans are white.
But here is a black swan. Your claim is false.
But I have ...
user63845
2
votes
0
answers
246
views
Robert Sapolsky ideas critics
I'm searching for critics of Robert Sapolsky "Behave". Could you recomend any materials?
Thanks!
- 51
2
votes
2
answers
87
views
If an animal is a member of a species, are its individual cells also members of the same species on their own? [closed]
Basically, my question is: which living structures does the biological taxonomy apply to? For example, do individual wolf cells have the same species status as the whole multicellular wolf? Is it ...
- 151
3
votes
6
answers
296
views
The definition of life
The prevailing biology of the modern era describes life as a system. A system is defined a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network. The NASA definition of ...
- 81
-2
votes
3
answers
387
views
scientific inquiry of theory of evolution [closed]
In the context of scientific inquiry, the term prediction means "The logical consequences of a set of premises". Consider the following premises :
Athena is taller than Zeno.
Zeno is taller ...
- 1,982
2
votes
2
answers
701
views
What's the difference between teleology and teleonomy?
So, Teleology is
According to the Cambridge Dictionary:
the belief that everything has a special purpose or use
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
a doctrine (as in vitalism) that ends ...
- 129
8
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Scientific stance on 'life from non-life, naturally'?
As far as I'm aware, almost everyone (from Dawkins to Lennox to Hovind) agrees that at some point in the past there was no life in our universe, and currently there is. Therefore life somehow arose ...
1
vote
1
answer
83
views
Could neurodiversity factors affect individuals' ability to understand various specific abstract concepts?
Wittgenstein was a philosopher who arrived at several insightful questions (e.g. the private-language problem) but seemed to range from clueless to superstitious about transfinite set theory. Non-...
- 22.5k
1
vote
1
answer
175
views
When it may be said that a fetus is a living creature and thus has rights that may collide with his mother's rights?
I used to believe that every pregnant woman should have a right to undergo an abortion - but when contemplated over it I realized that I also think of situations where the fetus is no older than a few ...
- 769
-1
votes
2
answers
79
views
"All there is are cells" as a philosophical school of thought
Like atomists since Demokrit and Lucretius believe that all matter is made out of atoms, biologists since Schleiden and Schwann believe that all living matter is made out of cells.
But since atomism ...
3
votes
3
answers
364
views
The relationship between energy and information
I read that the Inuit consider the caribou and the wolf to be complimentary parts of an inclusive, larger entity. I am curious whether it is useful to view the relationship between energy and ...
- 75
2
votes
1
answer
147
views
If we had the ability to make humanity less war-like, should we? [closed]
Ok, this question is about both science and philosophy, but my focus is on the latter.
Let’s assume that science and technology gave humanity the ability to „re-engineer“ itself on the genetic level. ...
- 23
2
votes
0
answers
110
views
is there a theory of social 'vaccination' against destructive ideologies?
One can notice certain similarities between domains of
biology, in which live organisms cope with viruses
sociology, where societies cope with destructive ideologies
Drawing an analogy, we can ...
- 129
0
votes
4
answers
758
views
2
votes
3
answers
463
views
Which evolutionary concepts or theories are used to either support or undermine 'perception of free will' as accurate?
NOTE: 'Free will' in this question describes an ability to have chosen otherwise, given the same circumstances.
According to American Scientist, Darwin came to a belief that we had no free will 30 ...
- 4,517
-2
votes
1
answer
54
views
What are diversity partitioning and clustering analysis, applied to hominids & race? [closed]
Can anyone EMLI5 (or an undergrad) the terms diversity partitioning and clustering analysis please?
From Winther paper over my head "The genetic reification of race"
re: Lewontin-Edwards ...
- 77
2
votes
5
answers
328
views
What does 'nature' mean in Darwin's Origin of Species?
Recently, I have been reading the Origin of Species and quite a few times Darwin says that nature selects. But it seems like he is personifying nature. Could we say that nature=reality for him? And ...
- 315
4
votes
1
answer
408
views
Most important modern/contemporary essays on free will
I enjoy philosophising about free will and formulating arguments as to why it cannot exist. I would like to write about my arguments so that they are relevant in today's literature, and so, I want to ...
- 189
-1
votes
2
answers
130
views
Does many-worlds rule out trial and error?
Suppose that the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics were true.
Would that rule out trial and error as something that actually happens in reality?
Let's take biology as a case study. ...
- 173
-2
votes
1
answer
98
views
Is Avatar Sexuality Likely to Persist in the Event of a Digitalised 'Humanity'? [closed]
The biological sexual act is vital to current human experience; it is one of our most powerful motivators and vital to the perpetuation of the species.
Humans do not require a present physical partner ...
- 4,517
0
votes
3
answers
230
views
How can one reconcile the physical view of life and the second law of thermodynamics?
Life appears to not follow the second law which states that (approximately speaking) physical systems tend towards more disorder (higher entropy).
This appears to be not true with life which actively ...
- 696
-1
votes
1
answer
78
views
Why do people think binocular vision is advantageous in sports? [closed]
Why do people think binocular vision (visual depth perception) is advantageous in sports? Yes, it can be helpful, but what if binocular vision is an evolutionary dead end? Aren't there plenty of ...
0
votes
1
answer
104
views
Differences in survivals [closed]
We, humans, claim that we survive diseases and dangers with the help of science/intelligence/brain. Intelligence and brain can be treated as something inside. Many creatures like cockroaches, ...
- 3,950
6
votes
1
answer
359
views
Can animals follow logical rules of inference?
I've been trying to recall a thought experiment, which I very vaguely remember to have come across either in Davidson or Dennett, that considers the following scenario: A hound is chasing its quarry ...
- 71
-1
votes
2
answers
106
views
Definition of a "sense"
Besides the five basic senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) there is also, for example, the sense of balance. While it may seem that this one is not really about perceiving the external world ...
- 2,508
0
votes
3
answers
235
views
Do HeLa cells prove immortality?
Does modern science, especially HeLa cells, prove that immortality (in the classic sense) is real (for these cells) or possible in the future?
- 145
3
votes
1
answer
274
views
How influential was "galvanism" on philosophy, and was it rightfully so?
I'm currently reading F. W. Schelling's "First Outline of a System of the Philosophy of Nature". Schelling, a late 18th-early 19th century philosopher, was very well-informed about contemporary ...
- 4,144
-1
votes
2
answers
57
views
Is life a logical consequence of matter reacting to other matter within an endless reoccuring of ‘life-friendly’ natural conditions? [closed]
In other words, is life bound to originate in any environment that provides the life-supporting conditions over a longer period? Like temperatures, the tides (thus a tide regulating moon), a solid ...
- 352
2
votes
1
answer
213
views
Is Aristotle's "Animal Soul" the immune system?
According to Aristotle, the soul is the substantial form of the body. As such, it is the principle that unifies the various parts of the body and maintains this unity.
The immune system also seems ...
- 8,615
1
vote
1
answer
98
views
On Darwin's Deduction
The following is from Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Volume 1 [Cambridge University Press, digitally printed version 2009, p. 31.]
The bearing of the three ...
- 471
2
votes
1
answer
119
views
Is Frankenstein's monster tantamount to positive proof in Science?
Specifically Biology presents some problems for me. For instance, now that we have Evolution we know what to look for. Thus we are bound to observe some adaptations, and over time even new species. ...
- 2,493
4
votes
9
answers
6k
views
Where is the line drawn on cheating Darwin/genetics? How does one accept this? [closed]
It is stated that cosmetic surgery is cheating genetics if the end result is aimed at increasing one's physical attraction and thus ultimately affecting natural selection in this person's favor.
But ...
- 75
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Did Charles Darwin say anything on why life was formed in the first place? [closed]
To be viewed from the perspective of epistemology and/or the philosophy of science.
Preamble:
Darwin, like scientists of his day, often spoke of “Laws” that inevitably cycle forth the results ...
- 137
2
votes
6
answers
764
views
What amount of complexity is enough to warrant intelligent design?
As our research into the cell progresses over the decades, we are seeing greater and greater levels of complexity. According to our current understanding, the cell resembles some sort of miniaturized ...
- 534