The Evolution of Theoretically Useful Traits |
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Authors: | Rowland Stout |
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Institution: | (1) Oriel College, University of Oxford, Oxford, Ox1 4FW, UK |
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Abstract: | The purely theoretical notion of fitness or optimality that is employed for instance in optimization theory has come under attack from those who think that only a more historically based notion of fitness could have a central role in evolutionary explanation. They argue that the key notion is proven usefulness rather than theoretical usefulness. This paper articulates a notion of theoretical usefulness and defends its role in functional evolutionary explanations. |
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Keywords: | adaptation optimization fitness functional historical evolutionary explanation Wright Millikan |
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