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Only three dimensions and the mother of invention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2007

Jeff Foss
Jeff Foss
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada. jefffoss@uvic.ca
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Abstract

Although the first three dimensions of evolution outlined by Jablonka & Lamb (J&L) are persuasively presented as aspects of evolutionary science, the fourth dimension, symbolic evolution, is problematic: Though it may in some metaphorical sense be happening, there cannot be a science of symbolic evolution. Symbolic evolution essentially involves meaning, which, besides being nonphysical, resolutely resists scientific categorization.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , August 2007 , pp. 370
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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References

Foss, J. (1992) Introduction to the epistemology of the brain: Indeterminacy, micro specificity, chaos, and openness. Topoi 11:45–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foss, J. (2000) Science and the riddle of consciousness: A solution. Kluwer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jablonka, E. & Lamb, M. J. (2005) Evolution in four dimensions: Genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic variation in the history of life. MIT Press.Google Scholar