Cause and effect in biology revisited: Is Mayr’s proximate-ultimate dichotomy still useful?
(2011) In Science 334(6062). p.1512-1516- Abstract
- Fifty years ago, Ernst Mayr published a hugely influential paper on the nature of causation in biology, in which he distinguished between proximate and ultimate causes. Mayr equated proximate causation with immediate factors (for example, physiology) and ultimate causation with evolutionary explanations (for example, natural selection). He argued that proximate and ultimate causes addressed different questions and were not alternatives. Mayr's account of causation remains widely accepted today, with both positive and negative ramifications. Several current debates in biology (for example, over evolution and development, niche construction, cooperation, and the evolution of language) are linked by a common axis of acceptance/rejection of... (More)
- Fifty years ago, Ernst Mayr published a hugely influential paper on the nature of causation in biology, in which he distinguished between proximate and ultimate causes. Mayr equated proximate causation with immediate factors (for example, physiology) and ultimate causation with evolutionary explanations (for example, natural selection). He argued that proximate and ultimate causes addressed different questions and were not alternatives. Mayr's account of causation remains widely accepted today, with both positive and negative ramifications. Several current debates in biology (for example, over evolution and development, niche construction, cooperation, and the evolution of language) are linked by a common axis of acceptance/rejection of Mayr's model of causation. We argue that Mayr's formulation has acted to stabilize the dominant evolutionary paradigm against change but may now hamper progress in the biological sciences (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4738992
- author
- Laland, Kevin ; Sterelny, Kim ; Odling-Smee, John ; Hoppitt, William and Uller, Tobias LU
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Science
- volume
- 334
- issue
- 6062
- pages
- 1512 - 1516
- publisher
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:83755169498
- pmid:22174243
- ISSN
- 1095-9203
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.1210879
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 0fcc7e4a-1b3a-4c27-b47a-599a0565b9c9 (old id 4738992)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 09:55:05
- date last changed
- 2022-04-27 08:29:56
@article{0fcc7e4a-1b3a-4c27-b47a-599a0565b9c9,
abstract = {{Fifty years ago, Ernst Mayr published a hugely influential paper on the nature of causation in biology, in which he distinguished between proximate and ultimate causes. Mayr equated proximate causation with immediate factors (for example, physiology) and ultimate causation with evolutionary explanations (for example, natural selection). He argued that proximate and ultimate causes addressed different questions and were not alternatives. Mayr's account of causation remains widely accepted today, with both positive and negative ramifications. Several current debates in biology (for example, over evolution and development, niche construction, cooperation, and the evolution of language) are linked by a common axis of acceptance/rejection of Mayr's model of causation. We argue that Mayr's formulation has acted to stabilize the dominant evolutionary paradigm against change but may now hamper progress in the biological sciences}},
author = {{Laland, Kevin and Sterelny, Kim and Odling-Smee, John and Hoppitt, William and Uller, Tobias}},
issn = {{1095-9203}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{6062}},
pages = {{1512--1516}},
publisher = {{American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}},
series = {{Science}},
title = {{Cause and effect in biology revisited: Is Mayr’s proximate-ultimate dichotomy still useful?}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1210879}},
doi = {{10.1126/science.1210879}},
volume = {{334}},
year = {{2011}},
}