| Ethics in Darwin's melancholy vision. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21300312 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Darwinian natural selection draws on Malthus' harsh vision of human society to explain how organisms come to be adapted to their environments. Natural selection produces the appearance of teleology, but requires only efficient causal processes: undirected, heritable variation combined with effects of the variations on survival and reproduction. This paper draws a sharp distinction between the resulting form of backwards-directed teleology and the future-directed teleology we ascribe to intentional human activity. Rather than dismiss teleology as mere illusion, the paper concludes with an account of how future-directed teleology came to be a justifiable part of how we understand ourselves. |
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Authors:
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Bryson Brown |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article Date: 2011-01-26 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences Volume: 42 ISSN: 1879-2499 ISO Abbreviation: Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci Publication Date: 2011 Mar |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-02-08 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9810965 Medline TA: Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 20-9 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. |
Affiliation:
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Philosophy, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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