title: Chance, explanation, and causation in evolutionary theory.
abstract: Chance comes into plays at many levels of the explanation of the evolutionary process; but the unity of sense of this category is problematic. The purpose of this talk is to clarify the meaning of chance at various levels in evolutionary theory: mutations, genetic drift, genetic revolutions, ecosystems, macroevolution. Three main concepts of chance are found at these various levels: luck (popular concept), randomness (probabilistic concept), and contingency relative to a given theoretical system (epistemological concept). After identifying which concept(s) of chance fit(s) with these levels, the question is raised whether these concepts can be reduced to a smaller number, and whether chance in evolutionary theory has a subjective or an objective sense.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne, Institut d'histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques, 13, rue du Four, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gayon
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001695:Biology / Q000266:history*; D015984:Causality; D017753:Ecosystem; D040961:Genetic Drift; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D011336:Probability; D013269:Stochastic Processes