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Taxonomy, Polymorphism, and History: An Introduction to Population Structure Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Marc Ereshefsky  and
Mohan Matthen
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Abstract

Homeostatic Property Cluster (HPC) theory suggests that species and other biological taxa consist of organisms that share certain similarities. HPC theory acknowledges the existence of Darwinian variation within biological taxa. The claim is that “homeostatic mechanisms” acting on the members of such taxa nonetheless ensure a significant cluster of similarities. The HPC theorist's focus on individual similarities is inadequate to account for stable polymorphism within taxa, and fails properly to capture their historical nature. A better approach is to treat distributions of traits in species populations as irreducible facts, explained in terms of selection pressures, genealogy, and other evolutionary factors. We call this view Population Structure Theory (PST). PST accommodates the view, implicit in biological systematics, that species are identified by reference to particular historical populations.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 72 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

Authors are listed alphabetically. Both authors are pleased to acknowledge (separate) financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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