Philosophy Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [philosophy-of-biology]

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Did Charles Darwin say anything on why life was formed in the first place?

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 implicit in their form. Question: In what ways did…
Jayant
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Is there a philosophical conception of not necessarily biological life?

Biologists usually think of life in terms of the ability of a system to harness energy from the environment to grow and to reproduce. However in Stanislav Lem's book 'Solaris' there is a vivid description of an exoplanetary ocean that doesn't grow…
Sergei
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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 in an environment of non-life. What does current…
MarnixKlooster ReinstateMonica
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Can science work without mathematical formulations?

Ernst Mayr in his last book titled "What Makes Biology Unique?" argues that many of the theories in biology do not need any mathematical support. He says that much of biology is only conceptual and cannot be describe by mathematical formulations. In…
Remi.b
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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 when it reaches a forking trail. As the hound…
alghazali
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Philosophy and the question 'When is a robot considered alive and thinking?'

I originally posted this question in Robotics Stack Exchange, but it was deemed off-topic there and it was recommended I post here: I was watching a youtube video of a robot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlhMGQgDkY At a point in the video when…
mrnovice
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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 understand the current literature on free will…
DavidSilverberg
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Where is the line drawn on cheating Darwin/genetics? How does one accept this?

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 where is the line drawn? What if one alters their…
Runner Ice
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Is our "meaning of life" fundamentally different from that of other animals?

Whatever the "meaning of life" may be (I interpret "meaning" as "purpose" here) is for us, Homo Sapiens, do we assume the "meaning of life" for humans differs fundamentally from the "meaning of life" of other animals?
Volker Siegel
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Does agency always imply choice?

I am a biologist but have strong interests in the most fundamental questions of Life, so I had to educate quite a bit on philosophy to be able to delve into them. One of the concepts I had to become familiar with was that of agency. I now think…
Yordan Yordanov
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What are the problems with Plantinga's evolutionary argument against naturalism (EAAN)?

Alvin Plantinga's formulation of the argument is here. I'll try to summarize it as I understand it. Naturalistic evolution selects for traits that tend to lead to survival. Some true beliefs about the natural world lead to survival. Some false…
user18800
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Must consciousness display intentionality?

Husserl affirmed intentionality as characteristic of consciousness. If matter can be conscious, as in Lucretious atoms of anima, and in Tegmarks baroque but physicalist constructions; must matter, to some extent, displat intentionality? What does…
Mozibur Ullah
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How can we defend conservation on a species level?

Background Many conservation measures in environmental biology such as the IUCN red list or measures against invasive species are done on the level of species rather than on the level of individuals. Often, individuals of a invasive species are…
COOLSerdash
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Why do living things want to keep living?

Why is it necessary to survive ? Every living thing, every single living thing on earth evolves in a way to survive, actually if it wasn't for this motive of survival, no living thing would actually evolve and all life would not exist. So where does…
AnarKi
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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 themselves (Like brain or kidney) are also considered a…
Just a homo sapiens
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