Over the last forty years the philosophy of biology has emerged as an important sub-discipline of the philosophy of science. Covering some of science's most divisive topics, such as philosophical issues in genetics, it also encompasses areas where modern biology has increasingly impinged on traditional philosophical questions, such as free will, essentialism, and nature vs nurture.

In this Very Short Introduction Samir Okasha outlines the core issues with which contemporary philosophy of biology is engaged. Offering a whistle-stop tour of the history of biology, he explores key ideas and paradigm shifts throughout the centuries, including areas such as the theory of evolution by natural selection; the concepts of function and design; biological individuality; and the debate over adaptationism. Throughout Okasha makes clear the relevance of biology for understanding human beings, human society, and our place in the natural world, and the importance of engaging with these issues.


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Samir Okasha is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Bristol, where he has taught since 2003. He was awarded a European Research Council Advanced Investigator Award in 2012 for a research project entitled 'Darwinism and the Theory of Rational Choice', and he has written over 100 articles in leading journals on diverse topics across philosophy of science and evolutionary biology. He is also the author of several books, including Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2002), and Evolution and the Levels of Selection (OUP, 2006), for which he received the Lakatos Award.