Metaphysics and the origin of species /

Ghiselin wrote this work to support his thesis--first enunciated 30 years ago--that biological species are individuals. This assertion created such a stir that he felt a further explanation was necessary and would also resolve an important debate in the philosophy of biology; i.e., the level at which natural selection operates. Does it work on individual organisms (the view of a majority of biologists) or on species (suggested by some philosophers of biology, including Ghiselin)? In declaring species equivalent to individuals, Ghiselin hoped to bridge the gap between the different positions and reduce the disagreement to semantics. His introduction relates how natural selection lost favor with many evolutionists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Subsequent chapters explain what the author means by individuals, and he defines such concepts as hierarchy and species. His eighth chapter, the most critical part of the book, attempts to answer objections raised in opposition to his ideas when he first proposed them. Very well written and lucid work for philosophers of biology. Graduate students through professionals. J. S. Schwartz; CUNY College of Staten Island