<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The assumption that natural selection alone is sufficient to explain not only which traits get fixed in a population/species, but also how they develop, has been questioned since Darwin’s times, and increasingly in the last decades. Alternative theories, linked to genetic and phenotypic processes, or to the theory of complex systems, have been proposed to explain the rise of the phenotypic variety upon which natural selection acts. In this article, we illustrate the current state of the issue and we propose a logical space based on phenotypic robustness that allows a classification of evolutionary phenomena and can provide a framework for unifying all these accounts.</p></abstract>

The assumption that natural selection alone is sufficient to explain not only which traits get fixed in a population/species, but also how they develop, has been questioned since Darwin’s times, and increasingly in the last decades. Alternative theories, linked to genetic and phenotypic processes, or to the theory of complex systems, have been proposed to explain the rise of the phenotypic variety upon which natural selection acts. In this article, we illustrate the current state of the issue and we propose a logical space based on phenotypic robustness that allows a classification of evolutionary phenomena and can provide a framework for unifying all these accounts.

More than Fitness. A Robustness-based Proposal of a Logical Space to Classify Processes Behind Evolutionary Phenomena

Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)

Kairos. Journal of Philosophy & Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The assumption that natural selection alone is sufficient to explain not only which traits get fixed in a population/species, but also how they develop, has...

More than Fitness. A Robustness-based Proposal of a Logical Space to Classify Processes Behind Evolutionary Phenomena

Published Online: Aug 20, 2018

Page range: 89 - 112

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/kjps-2018-0005

Keywords
Philosophy of Biology, Evolution, Natural Selection, Organismic Design, Robustness

© 2018 Giorgio Airoldi, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

More than Fitness. A Robustness-based Proposal of a Logical Space to Classify Processes Behind Evolutionary Phenomena

Published Online: Aug 20, 2018

Page range: 89 - 112

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/kjps-2018-0005

KeywordsPhilosophy of Biology, Evolution, Natural Selection, Organismic Design, Robustness

© 2018 Giorgio Airoldi, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Philosophy of Biology, Evolution, Natural Selection, Organismic Design, Robustness