Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary Introduction

Is life a purely physical process? What is human nature? Which of our traits is essential to us? In this volume biologist Rosenberg and philosopher McShea join forces to create a new gateway to the philosophy of biology, making the major issues accessible and relevant to biologists and philosophers alike. The authors lay out the broad terms in which we should assess the impact of biology on human capacities, social institutions and ethical values, exploring concepts such as supervenience; the controversies about genocentrism and genetic determinism; and the debate about major transitions central to contemporary thinking about macroevolution.