Organisms as natural purposes: the contemporary evolutionary perspective

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Kant's concept of natural purposes challenges mechanistic explanations in biology.
• Contemporary evolutionary biology often overlooks teleological explanations, focusing on sub-organismal replicators.
• The category of the organism is largely absent from current biological explanations.

Discussion:

• Recent advances in developmental biology highlight the limitations of purely mechanistic, sub-organismal approaches.
• The paper argues for the ineliminable role of the organism, viewed as a 'natural purpose', in understanding ontogeny and evolution.
• It addresses Kant's skepticism about demonstrating natural purposiveness objectively.

Key Insights:

• Self-organization research suggests biological purposiveness is a natural phenomenon.
• Invariance explanation provides a framework for understanding biological purposiveness as a genuine explanatory concept.
• The organism as a natural purpose offers essential insights into biological development and adaptation.

Outlook:

• Reintegrating the organism category can enrich evolutionary and developmental biology.
• Further research into self-organization and invariance principles can solidify teleological explanations.
• This perspective may bridge philosophical challenges with empirical biological research.