Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Philosophy and Biodiversity
- Part I USING ‘BIODIVERSITY’
- Part II UNDERSTANDING BIODIVERSITY
- 3 Plato on Diversity and Stability in Nature
- 4 Biodiversity, Darwin, and the Fossil Record
- 5 Biological Diversity, Ecological Stability, and Downward Causation
- Part III VALUING BIODIVERSITY
- Part IV PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY
- Index
- References
4 - Biodiversity, Darwin, and the Fossil Record
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 June 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Philosophy and Biodiversity
- Part I USING ‘BIODIVERSITY’
- Part II UNDERSTANDING BIODIVERSITY
- 3 Plato on Diversity and Stability in Nature
- 4 Biodiversity, Darwin, and the Fossil Record
- 5 Biological Diversity, Ecological Stability, and Downward Causation
- Part III VALUING BIODIVERSITY
- Part IV PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY
- Index
- References
Summary
Some ideas about nature owe more to our historical beliefs than to current theories or data. Because nature has been seen as an expression of the mind of the divine, it is particularly prone to be interpreted in light of prior beliefs. As it was once a heresy to suggest that the earth circles the sun, so in many quarters it is still taboo to suggest that the natural state of our global ecosystem is not one of stability. We will argue that this belief is something rooted more in our religious past than in our scientific present. Adopting a common usage of the term “biodiversity” to mean the total number of species in an area, we address Darwin's ideas on biodiversity and the claims of modern interpreters of the fossil record. We claim that these ideas are influenced by older prescientific concepts regarding the bounty and balance of nature.
Darwin firmly rejected the idea that the existence of particular identities of species was fixed. He claimed that species went extinct and others came into being. Yet, Darwin and modern authors have interpreted the fossil record as supporting the hypothesis that the total number of species will reach an equilibrium value. We shall demonstrate that the basis of this claim, and a similar claim presented by modern authors, is weak. This emphasis on equilibrium interpretations may be due to an idea prevalent in the seventeenth century regarding the state of nature.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Philosophy and Biodiversity , pp. 101 - 118Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
References
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