224 research outputs found
Units of Selection
Understanding what kind of variation is possible and at what level selection occurs over those variations is what has driven the conversation about evolutionary biology at least since Darwin
The Evolutionary Indeterminism Thesis
Evolutionary indeterminists argue that, in addition to any indeterminism introduced by quantum events, at least some evolutionary processes are themselves fundamentally indeterministic. That is, they maintain that the chance element in evolutionary processes results from indeterminism in the processes themselves, rather than simply from our cognitive limitations. Not everyone has been persuaded. A number of philosophers have argued that claims for evolutionary indeterminism are premature at best and deeply confused at worst. They maintain that evolutionary processes can and should be understood as deterministic processes. According to them, chance is merely a word denoting our ignorance of causes. This controversy is now one of the liveliest topics in the philosophy of biology. This article reviews the main arguments on each side, showing how the issues at stake in this debate raise fundamental questions about the nature of science as an explanatory enterprise and of the world it seeks to explain
Evolution Is Opportunistic, Not Directional - Response
Argues against an article published in \u27BioScience\u27 magazine in which Timothy Shanahan says that evolution is progressive and directional and embodies improvement.Discussion of regressive and progressive evolution and the accompanying multiplication or loss of phenotypic characteristics; Illustrations related to the blindness and loss of pigmentation in troglobitic, or deep-sea cave organisms; Response from Shanahan
Literacy Across the Lifespan: What Works?
This article explores similarities in literacy learning across various life-span stages and considers what actions must be taken to improve literacy attainment and achievement, whether the delivery site is prekindergarten, elementary, secondary, adult, family, workplace, volunteer, or community literacy. The emphasis here is on what it takes to successfully teach individuals to read and write well separate from any adjustments that must be made for context or learner characteristics. Research is examined for five essential variables in literacy learning, including (1) amount of teaching; (2) content of instruction; (3) quality of instruction; (4) student motivation; and (5) alignment and support
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