麻豆淫院

(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- Misinterpretation of a key scientific concept has led to decades of fierce debate according to an Australian National University philosopher.

In a hugely influential paper published fifty years ago, eminent scientist Ernst Mayr distinguished between 鈥榳hy鈥� questions and 鈥榟ow鈥� questions in biology; for example, the difference between asking 鈥榳hy do birds migrate鈥� and 鈥榟ow they know when to migrate鈥�.

Dr Kim Sterelny of the School of Philosophy says that misinterpretation of this distinction has created a rift in the biological world that is holding science back.

鈥淢any current controversies in evolutionary theory in part depend on different views about the relationship between 鈥榟ow鈥� and 鈥榳hy鈥� questions,鈥� he said.

Instead of treating 鈥榟ow鈥� and 鈥榳hy鈥� questions as equally important, many scientists are choosing sides and ignoring the fact that such questions are complementary rather than alternative ideas.

In a paper published in Science, Dr Sterelny and his co-authors have urged the scientific community to re-evaluate their interpretation of this important issue.

They are calling for a change in the default view from seeing 鈥榟ow鈥� and 鈥榳hy鈥� questions as unrelated to recognising them as reciprocal.

鈥淚nstead of primarily focusing on single cause-effect relations within systems, the evolutionary sciences as a whole should focus on broader trends, feedback cycles, or the tracing of causal influences throughout systems. This debate is relevant to all of the biological sciences - evolution, psychology, linguistics and molecular biology,鈥� Dr Sterelny said.