Realism, Conventionalism, and Causal Decomposition in Units of Selection: Reflections on Samir Okasha's Evolution and the Levels of Selection

Abstract

I discuss two subjects in Samir Okasha's excellent book, Evolution and the Levels of Selection. In consonance with Okasha's critique of the conventionalist view of the units of selection problem, I argue that conventionalists have not attended to what realists mean by group, individual, and genic selection. In connection with Okasha's discussion of the Price equation and contextual analysis, I discuss whether the existence of these two quantitative frameworks is a challenge to realism. © 2010 Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, LLC.