Species Problem – A Philosophical Analysis

Richard A Richards, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

Published online: December 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003456

The species problem is that there are multiple ways to conceive species that divide up biodiversity in inconsistent ways, with no obvious solution. Philosophical analysis of the species problem has first, focused on the adequacy of particular species concepts and associated conceptual frameworks; and second, engaged issues relative to species realism, pluralism and ontology.

Keywords: species problem; species concepts; species pluralism; species realism; species as individuals

 Further Reading
    book Ereshefsky M (ed.) (1992) The Units of Evolution: Essays on the Nature of Species. Cambridge, MA: Bradford Books.
    book Ereshefsky M (2001) The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy: A Philosophical Study of Biological Taxonomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    book Ghiselin MT (1997) Metaphysics and the Origin of Species. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
    book Grene M and Depew D (2004) The Philosophy of Biology: An Episodic History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    book Hey J (2001) Genes, Categories and Species: The Evolutionary and Cognitive Causes of the Species Problem. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Hull DL (1997) "The ideal species concept – and why we can't get it". In: Claridge MF, Dawah HA and Wilson MR (eds) Species: The Units of Biodiversity. London: Chapman and Hall.
    book Mayden RL (1997) "A hierarchy of species concepts: the denouement in the saga of the species problem". In: Claridge MF, Dawah HA and Wilson MR (eds) Species: The Units of Biodiversity. London: Chapman and Hall.
    book Mayr E (1982) The Growth of Biological Thought. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
    book Richards RA (2007) "Species and taxonomy". In: Ruse M (ed.) Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Biology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Wilson RA (ed.) (1999) Species: New Interdisciplinary Essays. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Related Sub-Topics:

Philosophy of the Life Sciences | Evolution: Theories and Ideas | Evolution of Species
Contact Editor close
Submit a note to the editor about this article by filling in the form below.

* Required Field

Article Title: Species Problem – A Philosophical Analysis
 
How to Cite close
Richards, Richard A(Dec 2007) Species Problem – A Philosophical Analysis. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003456]