The Constrained Vision of Evolutionary Ethics

2018 ◽  
pp. 35-70
Author(s):  
Neema Parvini
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Evolutionary Ethics ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
Jonathan Haidt ◽  
Selection Group ◽  
The Way

This chapter adapts Thomas Sowell’s concept of the constrained (or “tragic”) and unconstrained (or “utopian) visions of humanity in its consideration of evolutionary ethics as a lens through which to approach Shakespeare’s plays. The first half summarises and explains the two visions, while the second traces the development of evolutionary ethics from Adam Smith and Charles Darwin to the work of E.O. Wilson, David Sloan Wilson, and Jonathan Haidt. Along the way, it considers the so-called “Darwin Wars” over the competing evolutionary theories of kin selection, group selection and species selection. Ultimately, the study aligns itself with the constrained vision and supports the emergent view in evolutionary literature of “group selection” following the work of Wilson, Sloan Wilson, and Haidt.

RUSKIN, DARWIN, AND LOOKING BENEATH SURFACES

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelin Krieg
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
John Ruskin ◽  
Victorian Science ◽  
The Way ◽  
Desire To Change

John Ruskin and Charles Darwinshared a desire to change the way their readers looked at both nature and art. However, when considering them together, we typically remember their failure to see eye to eye on man's place in nature. Examining Ruskin's responses to Darwin's work, sexual selection in particular, or Ruskin's late dissatisfaction with Victorian science more generally, scholars have emphasized their conflicting worldviews. Yet this tendency to focus on conceptual disagreement fails to consider a shared intellectual background between the two men: the science of geology.

Overstory treatment and planting season affect survival of replacement tree species in emerald ash borer threatened Fraxinus nigra forests in Minnesota, USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (12) ◽  
pp. 1728-1738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher E. Looney ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato ◽  
Brian J. Palik ◽  
Robert A. Slesak
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
High Survival ◽  
Fraxinus Nigra ◽  
Black Ash

Fraxinus nigra Marsh. (black ash) wetland forests in northern Minnesota, USA, are threatened by the invasive insect, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (EAB)). A potential management option is promoting regeneration of tree species that are not EAB hosts to maintain ecosystem functions. Using an operational-scale field experiment, we examined the survival of 12 alternative tree species in response to different canopy treatments. We planted the seedlings in 1.6 ha plots assigned to four replicated canopy treatments: untreated control, group selection (0.04 ha gaps, 20% of stand), black ash girdling to emulate EAB-induced mortality, and clearcut. Fall and spring plantings were used to compare the effects of spring ponding. Control (32.9%), group selection (34.5%), and girdling (33.3%) treatments had comparable overall seedling survival. Survival in the clear-cut treatments was significantly lower (22%). Species selection, overstory treatment, and season of planting together resulted in survival rates ranging from 0.08% to 94.1%. Conifer species had low overall rates of survival (10.7%), whereas some species with native ranges not presently overlapping with northern F. nigra forests, e.g., Quercus bicolor Willd. (75.5%), had high survival rates. If growth is light-limited, group selection may be effective in promoting recruitment and supporting a larger variety of species.

scholarly journals Pedogenic Threshold in Acidity Explains Context-Dependent Tree Species Effects on Soil Carbon

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Desie ◽  
Bart Muys ◽  
Boris Jansen ◽  
Lars Vesterdal ◽  
Karen Vancampenhout
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Species Effects ◽  
Tree Species Effects ◽  
Soc Stocks ◽  
The Way

Despite the general agreement that maximizing carbon storage and its persistence in forest soils are top priorities in the context of climate change mitigation, our knowledge on how to steer soil organic carbon (SOC) through forest management remains limited. For some soils, tree species selection based on litter quality has been shown a powerful measure to boost SOC stocks and stability, whereas on other locations similar efforts result in insignificant or even opposite effects. A better understanding of which mechanisms underpin such context-dependency is needed in order to focus and prioritize management efforts for carbon sequestration. Here we discuss the key role of acid buffering mechanisms in belowground ecosystem functioning and how threshold behavior in soil pH mediates tree species effects on carbon cycling. For most forests around the world, the threshold between the exchange buffer and the aluminum buffer around a pH-H2O of 4.5 is of particular relevance. When a shift between these buffer domains occurs, it triggers changes in multiple compartments in the soil, ultimately altering the way carbon is incorporated and transformed. Moreover, the impact of such a shift can be amplified by feedback loops between tree species, soil biota and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Hence, taking into account non-linearities related to acidity will allow more accurate predictions on the size and direction of the effect of litter quality changes on the way soil organic carbon is stored in forest soils. Consequently, this will allow developing more efficient, context-explicit management strategies to optimize SOC stocks and their stability.

Property and Progress: Where Adam Smith Went Wrong

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
The West ◽  
Property Relations ◽  
Widespread Agreement ◽  
The Way ◽  
Social Property

During the first half of the twentieth century there was widespread agreement as to whether the way to understand the historical emergence of economic development in the West was through the theoretical lens provided by Adam Smith. This chapter critiques Smith's view of the transition through which the pre-capitalist social property relations were transformed into capitalist property relations – a transition that is believed to have been mistakenly attributed by Smith to the expansion of trade. It is argued instead that the rise of capitalist social property relations in England, which led to economic development, was instead catalyzed by the growth of specialization, investment, and the rising labour productivity in agriculture. In addition, it is argued that industrial and economic development were caused by the separation of the manufacturing from the peasantry.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Horrall
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Short Note ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Evolutionary Theories

This short chapter opens with a scene set in 1911, in which Antarctic explorers from throughout the British Empire listen to a recording of the era’s most famous cave man in their hut near the South Pole. This demonstrates how the cave man had been insinuated into global popular culture. The introduction then briefly sketches the character’s genesis, noting the importance of popular evolutionary theories and especially Charles Darwin, the role played by the cartoonist Edward Tennyson ‘E.T.’ Reed and the international influence of his drawings. The use of the term ‘cave man’ to refer to these ancient humans is discussed as are issues surrounding gender and race. Finally, a short note about primary sources discusses how digitisation and searchable databases have revolutionised the ways in which popular culture can be explored, reconstructed and understood.

Historical Origins

2021 ◽  
pp. 11-45
Author(s):  
J. Arvid Ågren
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Natural Theology ◽  
Living World ◽  
Selfish Gene ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
The Third ◽  
Historical Origins ◽  
The Way

This chapter traces the origins of the gene’s-eye view through three sections of evolutionary biology. The first is adaptationism, the tradition that takes the appearance of design in living world to be the cardinal problem a theory of evolution needs to explain. The chapter shows how this view has been especially prominent in British biology, owing the strong standing of natural theology and the writings of William Paley. The second is the emergence of population genetics during the modern synthesis. Here, the work of R.A. Fisher was particularly important. The third and final section was the levels selection debate and the rejection of group selection. G.C. Williams led the way the way and the origin of the gene’s-eye view culminated with the publication of The Selfish Gene.

4. Levels of selection

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Levels Of Selection ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Major Transitions In Evolution

‘Levels of selection’ examines the levels-of-selection question, which asks whether natural selection acts on individuals, genes, or groups. This question is one of the most fundamental in evolutionary biology, and the subject of much controversy. Traditionally, biologists have mostly been concerned with selection and adaptation at the individual level. But, in theory, there are other possibilities, including selection on sub-individual units such as genes and cells, and on supra-individual units such as groups and colonies. Group selection, altruistic behaviour, kin selection, the gene-centric view of evolution, and the major transitions in evolution are all discussed.

scholarly journals Group selection and kin selection: Two concepts but one process

2007 ◽  
Vol 104 (16) ◽  
pp. 6736-6739 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Lehmann ◽  
L. Keller ◽  
S. West ◽  
D. Roze
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Group Selection
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