Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome | |||
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Coincidence: coincidence is not the absence of a causal explanation, but the coinciding of several events, which were caused by independent causal chains. The determination of a coincidence belongs to the description level and may express the deviation from an expectation. The property of being accidental is not inherent to events. See also determinism, indeterminism, contingency, necessity, probability._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
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Ernst Mayr on Coincidence - Dictionary of Arguments
I 105 Coincidence/Mayr: we call a certain mutation coincidental if it is not related to present needs of the organism and is otherwise unpredictable. >Mutation, cf. >Necessity. I 250 Coincidence/Mayr: dominates the variation Necessity/Mayr: dominates in selection. >Selection. Selection: there is no "selective force"! I 252 Selection: Bates' discovery of mimicry (1862)(1) in edible and poisonous butterflies: first proof of natural selection. Benefit/Biology: what is the benefit of the emergence of a trait for survival: adaptionist program. >Adaptation, >Benefit, >Emergence. 1. H.W. Bates (1862). Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley. In: Trans Linn. Soc. London 23. S. 495-566._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Mayr I Ernst Mayr This is Biology, Cambridge/MA 1997 German Edition: Das ist Biologie Heidelberg 1998 |