Philosophy of Biology

The successor to Sober's 1993 manual as the standard introduction to philosophy of biology — more updated, equally clear. Godfrey-Smith covers natural selection, adaptation, species, genetics, and the relationship between biology and the social sciences with a philosopher's precision and a biologist's grounding. What sets this apart is his ability to present genuine open questions as open questions, rather than pretending consensus exists where it does not. The book benefits from two decades of additional debate, particularly on multilevel selection and the extended evolutionary synthesis. Short, dense, and remarkably well-written — it does not waste a sentence. The ideal starting point for the philosophy of biology line in this library.