Could a “philosophical fitness landscape” foster Wilsonian consilience in biosystems debates?

A digital interpretation of Edward O. Wilson’s principle of “consilience”—knowledge will grow out of interdisciplinary accommodation—is attempted by modeling it with 32 pixels on a “philosophical fitness landscape” (PFL). This approach partially answers a need expressed by Wilson to develop useful c...

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Veröffentlicht in:BioSystems 2003-12, Vol.72 (3), p.217-227
1. Verfasser: Emery, Richard
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A digital interpretation of Edward O. Wilson’s principle of “consilience”—knowledge will grow out of interdisciplinary accommodation—is attempted by modeling it with 32 pixels on a “philosophical fitness landscape” (PFL). This approach partially answers a need expressed by Wilson to develop useful consilience methodology, including maps and other orientation devises. Responding also to his call for more imagination, a “virtual roundtable” discussion is convened among 13 scientific luminaries to debate the meaning of biological life and its origin. This is done to test (subjectively) the null hypothesis that a PFL would be insensitive to the diversity of perspectives engaged in such a debate. Rejecting the null hypothesis, an argument is made that an appropriate PFL might help to foster Wilsonian consilience in biosystems debates, where it is needed most.
ISSN:0303-2647
1872-8324
DOI:10.1016/S0303-2647(03)00147-3