Contents
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Adaptation and levels of explanation Adaptation and levels of explanation
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Adaptations, fortuitous benefits, and by-product mutualism Adaptations, fortuitous benefits, and by-product mutualism
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Adaptation and selection: Natural, artificial, social, and sexual Adaptation and selection: Natural, artificial, social, and sexual
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Phylogeny: Adaptation’s raw materials Phylogeny: Adaptation’s raw materials
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Adaptation and environments, old and new Adaptation and environments, old and new
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Adaptation, judgment, and misjudgment Adaptation, judgment, and misjudgment
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Adaptation, culture, and language Adaptation, culture, and language
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Genes, individuals, and groups: Adaptations at multiple levels? Genes, individuals, and groups: Adaptations at multiple levels?
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Adaptation and justification Adaptation and justification
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From Williams to Olson From Williams to Olson
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2 Adaptation: A Special and Onerous Concept
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Published:October 2012
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Abstract
This chapter examines the concept of adaptation and how it is applied (and sometimes misapplied) to cooperation. It starts with George C. Williams's idea that adaptation is a “special and onerous concept that should be used only where it is really necessary,” which he articulated in Adaptation and Natural Selection. It then considers different levels of explanation that help clarify the notion of adaptation, fortuitous benefits and by-product mutualism in relation to adaptation, and the link between adaptation and natural, artificial, social, and sexual selection. It also explores how phylogeny constrains natural selection, the ways that adaptations solve specific problems found in specific environments, and how adaptation influences judgment. Finally, it analyzes the role of culture and language in adaptation and evolutionary explanations of morality.
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