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- Persson, Johannes, et al.
(författare)
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Three conceptions of explaining how possibly - and one reductive account
- 2011
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Ingår i: EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009. - Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands. - 9789400724037 - 9789400724044 ; 1, s. 275-286
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Philosophers of science have often favoured reductive approaches to how-possibly explanation. This article identifies three varieties of how-possibly explanation and, in so doing, helps to show that this form of explanation is a rich and interesting phenomenon in its own right. The first variety approaches “How is it possible that X?” by showing that, despite appearances, X is not ruled out by what was believed prior to X. This can sometimes be achieved by removing misunderstandings about the implications of one’s belief system (prior to observing X), but more often than not it involves a modification of this belief system so that one’s acceptance of X does not generate a contradiction. The second variety of how-possibly explanation offers a potential how-explanation of X; it is usually followed by a range of further potential how-explanations of the same phenomenon. In recent literature the factual claims implied by this sort of how-possibly explanation have been downplayed, whereas the heuristic role of mapping the space of conceptual possibilities has been emphasized. Below I will focus especially on this truth-bracketing sense of potentiality when I look at this variety of explanation more closely. The third variety of how-possibly explanation has attracted less interest. It presents a partial how-explanation of X, and typically it aims to establish the existence of a mechanism by which X could be, and was, generated without filling in all the details. It stands out as the natural alternative for advocates of ontic how-possibly explanation. This article translates divisions like those evident in Salmon’s (1984) view that explanation-concepts can be broadly divided into epistemic, modal, and ontic across to the context of how-possibly explanations. Moreover, it is argued that each of the three varieties of how-possibly explanation mentioned above has a place in science. That this is so may be especially interesting to philosophers: we are often misled by the promises made on behalf of various why-explanation accounts, and seem to have forgotten nearly everything about the fruitful diversity of how-possibly explanations.
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- Wortel, Meike T., et al.
(författare)
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Towards evolutionary predictions : current promises and challenges
- 2023
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Applications. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1752-4571. ; 16:1, s. 3-21
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evolution has traditionally been a historical and descriptive science, and predicting future evolutionary processes has long been considered impossible. However, evolutionary predictions are increasingly being developed and used in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology and conservation biology. Evolutionary predictions may be used for different purposes, such as to prepare for the future, to try and change the course of evolution or to determine how well we understand evolutionary processes. Similarly, the exact aspect of the evolved population that we want to predict may also differ. For example, we could try to predict which genotype will dominate, the fitness of the population or the extinction probability of a population. In addition, there are many uses of evolutionary predictions that may not always be recognized as such. The main goal of this review is to increase awareness of methods and data in different research fields by showing the breadth of situations in which evolutionary predictions are made. We describe how diverse evolutionary predictions share a common structure described by the predictive scope, time scale and precision. Then, by using examples ranging from SARS-CoV2 and influenza to CRISPR-based gene drives and sustainable product formation in biotechnology, we discuss the methods for predicting evolution, the factors that affect predictability and how predictions can be used to prevent evolution in undesirable directions or to promote beneficial evolution (i.e. evolutionary control). We hope that this review will stimulate collaboration between fields by establishing a common language for evolutionary predictions.
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| 4. |
- Kanai, M, et al.
(författare)
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- 2023
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swepub:Mat__t
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