Trait X is fitter than trait Y in a population of organisms if those organisms have other biological traits T and live in an environment that has properties E. The theory of natural selection is filled with statements of this form.
I think that the existence of Beethoven is remarkable, but I do not bristle at the suggestion that this event had a low probability given the initial… - Elliott Sober
I think that the existence of Beethoven is remarkable, but I do not bristle at the suggestion that this event had a low probability given the initial…
- Elliott Sober
Darwin repeatedly used the hypothesis of common ancestry as a platform on which to build his various ideas about testing hypotheses concerning natura… - Elliott Sober
Darwin repeatedly used the hypothesis of common ancestry as a platform on which to build his various ideas about testing hypotheses concerning natura…
Earlier attempts to show that simpler theories always have higher prior probabilities have failed, but there is a restricted circumstance in which th… - Elliott Sober
Earlier attempts to show that simpler theories always have higher prior probabilities have failed, but there is a restricted circumstance in which th…
Biologists now pretty universally regard vitalism as a vestige of a bygone age. - Elliott Sober
Biologists now pretty universally regard vitalism as a vestige of a bygone age.
I think that some "interventionist theisms" are compatible with evolutionary theory. (By "intervention," I don't mean that God violates laws of natur… - Elliott Sober
I think that some "interventionist theisms" are compatible with evolutionary theory. (By "intervention," I don't mean that God violates laws of natur…
When one theory is simpler than its competitor, this fact is relevant to saying what the world is like. - Elliott Sober
When one theory is simpler than its competitor, this fact is relevant to saying what the world is like.
Evolutionary biologists often avoid using the term "race" because there is so much racist baggage that comes with the term. However, they are often o… - Elliott Sober
Evolutionary biologists often avoid using the term "race" because there is so much racist baggage that comes with the term. However, they are often o…
Scientists often seek predictively accurate models, rather than models that are true. - Elliott Sober
Scientists often seek predictively accurate models, rather than models that are true.
The rabid opposition to group selection has now considerably subsided. In the process, the conceptual structure of evolutionary theory has become cle… - Elliott Sober
The rabid opposition to group selection has now considerably subsided. In the process, the conceptual structure of evolutionary theory has become cle…
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