Troublemane
Well-Known Member
Does Darwinism (in particular) and modern Evolutionary Theory (in general) reject the Platonist view of 'substance'?
What I mean by this: can living beings be defined by what they are? Or are they to be viewed as 'becomings'?
Do genes define inclusion into a species? Is it causal or is it more loose than that? Are there not clearly defined genes which determine species, but sets of genes? And if you have some of those sets, you are included?
And finally, as species appear and disappear, can it be said with any certainty that there is anything like "survival of the fittest"? If circumstances change all the time, what is "fittest" must be relative, shouldnt it?
What I mean by this: can living beings be defined by what they are? Or are they to be viewed as 'becomings'?
Do genes define inclusion into a species? Is it causal or is it more loose than that? Are there not clearly defined genes which determine species, but sets of genes? And if you have some of those sets, you are included?
And finally, as species appear and disappear, can it be said with any certainty that there is anything like "survival of the fittest"? If circumstances change all the time, what is "fittest" must be relative, shouldnt it?