William F. Harms

Information and Meaning in Evolutionary Processes

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The most significant legacy of philosophical skepticism is the realization that our concepts, beliefs and theories are social constructs. This belief has led to epistemological relativism, or the thesis that since there is no ultimate truth about the world, theory preferences are only a matter of opinion. In this book, William Harms seeks to develop the conceptual foundations and tools for a science of knowledge through the application of evolutionary theory, thus allowing us to acknowledge the legacy of skepticism while denying its relativistic offspring. This book will appeal to students and professionals in epistemology and the philosophy of science.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 284
• Erscheinungstermin: 13. Juni 2007
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 465g
• ISBN-13: 9780521039215
• ISBN-10: 0521039215
• Artikelnr.: 23003527

Inhaltsangabe

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I. Generalizing Evolutionary Theory: 1. Replicator theories
2. Ontologies of evolution and cultural transmission
Part II. Modeling Information Flow in Evolutionary Processes: 3. Population dynamics
4. Information theory
5. Selection as an information-transfer process
6. Multilevel information transfer
7. Information in internal states
Part III. Meaning Conventions and Normativity: 8. Primitive content
9. Is and ought
Epilogue: Paley's Watch and other stories
Notes
Appendix: proof of information gain under frequency-independent discrete replicator dynamics for population of n types
References
Index.