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Two Concepts of Constraint: Adaptationism and the Challenge from Developmental Biology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Ron Amundson
Ron Amundson*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Hawaii at Hilo
*
‡Send reprint requests to the author, Department of Philosophy, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720-4091, USA.
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Abstract

The so-called “adaptationism” of mainstream evolutionary biology has been criticized from a variety of sources. One, which has received relatively little philosophical attention, is developmental biology. Developmental constraints are said to be neglected by adaptationists. This paper explores the divergent methodological and explanatory interests that separate mainstream evolutionary biology from its embryological and developmental critics. It will focus on the concept of constraint itself; even this central concept is understood differently by the two sides of the dispute.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 61 , Issue 4 , December 1994 , pp. 556 - 578
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1994

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Footnotes

†

The ideas expressed in this paper were stimulated by discussions with Stephen Jay Gould and Pere Alberch. Versions have received valuable commentary from many people, including Daniel Dennett, Kim Sterelny, Scott Gilbert, Kelly Smith, and especially Elliott Sober. The work was supported by NSF grant SBE-9122646.

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