EVOLUTION AND SUBJECTIVITY

Author: Kiblinger, William P.

Source: Zygon, Volume 42, Number 1, March 2007 , pp. 193-202(10)

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Abstract:

Evolutionary theory is becoming an all-encompassing form of explanation in many branches of philosophy. However, emergence theory uses the concept of self-organization to support yet alter traditional evolutionary explanation. Biologist Stuart Kauffman suggests that the new science will need to tell stories, not simply as a heuristic device but as part of its fundamental task. This claim is reminiscent of C. S. Peirce's criticism of the doctrine of necessity. Peirce's suggestions reference Hegel, and this essay draws out this Hegelian background, addressing the question of subjectivity and issuing some Hegelian reminders so that such evolutionary and emergent theories will consider the implication of this research program on philosophy of mind. The primary focus is on two post-Kantian, neo-Hegelian thinkers in contemporary philosophy who deal with this problem: John McDowell and Robert Brandom.

Keywords: adjacent possible; Robert B. Brandom; complexity; consciousness; emergence; evolution; habit; G. W. F. Hegel; Stuart Kauffman; John McDowell; Charles Sanders Peirce; purpose; purposiveness; second nature; self-organization; subjectivity; supervenience

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2006.00815.x

Affiliations: 1: Assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733;, Email: kiblingerw@winthrop.edu.

Publication date: 2007-03-01