Na casa de Darwin há muitas moradas...

Aqui neste blog eu mencionei que o neo-darwinismo (Síntese Moderna para alguns) era um verdadeiro 'smorgasbord' epistêmico: pratos teóricos para todos os gostos em regime de 'self-service'. O consenso teórico sobre o fato, Fato, FATO da evolução é conversa pra boi dormir, oops, só pra inglês ver. A Galera dos meninos e meninas de Darwin riu de mim em vários sites de discussão.

Nada melhor do que ser vindicado na literatura especializada...

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The uncertain foundation of neo-Darwinism: metaphysical and epistemological pluralism in the evolutionary synthesis

Abstract

The Evolutionary Synthesis is often seen as a unification process in evolutionary biology, one which provided this research area with a solid common theoretical foundation. As such, neo-Darwinism is believed to constitute from this time onward a single, coherent, and unified movement offering research guidelines for investigations. While this may be true if evolutionary biology is solely understood as centred around evolutionary mechanisms, an entirely different picture emerges once other aspects of the founding neo-Darwinists’ views are taken into consideration, aspects potentially relevant to the elaboration of an evolutionary worldview: the tree of life, the ontological distinctions of the main cosmic entities (inert matter, biological organisms, mind), the inherent properties of self-organizing matter, evolutionary ethics, and so on. Profound tensions and inconsistencies are immediately revealed in the neo-Darwinian movement once this broader perspective is adopted. This pluralism is such that it is possible to identify at least three distinct and quasi-incommensurable epistemological/metaphysical frameworks as providing a proper foundation for neo-Darwinism. The analysis of the views of Theodosius Dobzhansky, Bernhard Rensch, and Ernst Mayr will illustrate this untenable pluralism, one which requires us to conceive of the neo-Darwinian research agenda as being conducted in more than one research programme or research tradition at the same time.
Article Outline

1. Introduction
2. A cosmic view of evolution

2.1. Dobzhansky: an open-ended cosmic evolution
2.2. Rensch: a cyclical cosmic evolution

3. An organic view of evolution

3.1. Mayr: biological evolution at a standstill

4. Neo-Darwinism’s untenable pluralism

5. Two parallel research areas

Acknowledgements

References

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Este artigo pode ser lido por assinantes da Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences ou por professores, pesquisadores e alunos de universidades públicas e privadas com acesso ao site da CAPES.