Evolutionary biology : conceptual, ethical, and religious issues / edited by R. Paul Thompson, Denis Walsh.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Human evolution : whence and whither? / Francisco Ayala -- Evolutionary theory, causal completeness, and theism : the case of "guided" mutation / Elliott Sober -- Religion, truth, and progress / Philip Kitcher -- Consilience, historicity, and the species problem / Marc Ereshefsky -- DNA barcoding and taxonomic practice / David Castle -- Darwin's theory and the value of mathematical formalization / R. Paul Thompson -- Population genetics, economic theory, and eugenics in R.A. Fisher / Jean Gayon -- Exploring development and evolution on the tangled bank / Jane Maienschein and Manfred Laubichler -- Darwin's cyclopean architect / John Beatty -- Function and teleology / Denis Walsh -- How physics fakes design / Alex Rosenberg.

Evolution - both the fact that it occurred and the theory describing the mechanisms by which it occurred - is an intrinsic and central component in modern biology. Theodosius Dobzhansky captures this well in the much-quoted title of his 1973 paper 'Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution'. The correctness of this assertion is even more obvious today: philosophers of biology and biologists agree that the fact of evolution is undeniable and that the theory of evolution explains that fact. Such a theory has far-reaching implications. In this volume, eleven distinguished scholars address the conceptual, metaphysical and epistemological richness of the theory and its ethical and religious impact, exploring topics including DNA barcoding, three grand challenges of human evolution, functionalism, historicity, design, evolution and development, and religion and secular humanism. The volume will be of great interest to those studying philosophy of biology and evolutionary biology.