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Samir Okasha [103]Samirn D. Okasha [1]
  1. Knowledge Based System for Diagnosing Custard Apple Diseases and Treatment.Mustafa M. K. Al-Ghoul, Mohammed H. S. Abueleiwa, Fadi E. S. Harara, Samir Okasha & Samy S. Abu-Naser - 2022 - International Journal of Academic Engineering Research (IJAER) 6 (5):41-45.
    There is no doubt that custard apple diseases are among the important reasons that destroy the Custard Apple plant and its agricultural crops. This leads to obvious damage to these plants and they become inedible. Discovering these diseases is a good step to provide the appropriate and correct treatment. Determining the treatment with high accuracy depends on the method used to correctly diagnose the disease, expert systems can greatly help in avoiding damage to these plants. The expert system correctly diagnoses (...)
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  2. Evolution and the levels of selection.Samir Okasha - 2006 - New York: Oxford University Press.
    Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? The question of levels of selection - on which biologists and philosophers have long disagreed - is central to evolutionary theory and to the philosophy of biology. Samir Okasha's comprehensive analysis gives a clear account of the philosophical issues at stake in the current debate.
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  3. Evolution and the Levels of Selection.Samir Okasha - 2009 - Critica 41 (123):162-170.
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  4.  30
    Agents and Goals in Evolution.Samir Okasha - 2018 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Samir Okasha offers a critical study of agential thinking in biology, where evolved organisms are seen as agents pursuing a goal. He examines the justification for transposing concepts from rational humans to the biological world, and considers whether agential thinking is mere anthropomorphism or plays a more intellectual role in the science.
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  5. Darwinian metaphysics: Species and the question of essentialism.Samir Okasha - 2002 - Synthese 131 (2):191-213.
    Biologists and philosophers of biology typically regard essentialism about speciesas incompatible with modern Darwinian theory. Analytic metaphysicians such asKripke, Putnam and Wiggins, on the other hand, believe that their essentialist thesesare applicable to biological kinds. I explore this tension. I show that standard anti-essentialist considerations only show that species do not have intrinsic essential properties. I argue that while Putnam and Kripke do make assumptions that contradict received biological opinion, their model of natural kinds, suitably modified, is partially applicable to (...)
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  6. Van Fraassen's Critique Of Inference To The Best Explanation.Samir Okasha - 2000 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 31 (4):691-710.
  7.  69
    The Concept of Agent in Biology: Motivations and Meanings.Samir Okasha - 2024 - Biological Theory 19 (1):6-10.
    Biological agency has received much attention in recent philosophy of biology. But what is the motivation for introducing talk of agency into biology and what is meant by “agent”? Two distinct motivations can be discerned. The first is that thinking of organisms as agents helps to articulate what is distinctive about organisms vis-à-vis other biological entities. The second is that treating organisms as agent-like is a useful heuristic for understanding their evolved behavior. The concept of agent itself may be understood (...)
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  8. Theory Choice and Social Choice: Kuhn versus Arrow.Samir Okasha - 2011 - Mind 120 (477):83-115.
    Kuhn’s famous thesis that there is ‘no unique algorithm’ for choosing between rival scientific theories is analysed using the machinery of social choice theory. It is shown that the problem of theory choice as posed by Kuhn is formally identical to a standard social choice problem. This suggests that analogues of well-known results from the social choice literature, such as Arrow’s impossibility theorem, may apply to theory choice. If an analogue of Arrow’s theorem does hold for theory choice this would (...)
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  9. Philosophy of science: a very short introduction.Samir Okasha - 2002 - New York: Oxford University Press.
    What is science? Is there a real difference between science and myth? Is science objective? Can science explain everything? This Very Short Introduction provides a concise overview of the main themes of contemporary philosophy of science. Beginning with a short history of science to set the scene, Samir Okasha goes on to investigate the nature of scientific reasoning, scientific explanation, revolutions in science, and theories such as realism and anti-realism. He also looks at philosophical issues in particular sciences, including the (...)
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  10. On the Interpretation of Decision Theory.Samir Okasha - 2016 - Economics and Philosophy 32 (3):409-433.
    Abstract:This paper explores the contrast between mentalistic and behaviouristic interpretations of decision theory. The former regards credences and utilities as psychologically real, while the latter regards them as mere representations of an agent's preferences. Philosophers typically adopt the former interpretation, economists the latter. It is argued that the mentalistic interpretation is preferable if our aim is to use decision theory for descriptive purposes, but if our aim is normative then the behaviouristic interpretation cannot be dispensed with.
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  11.  60
    Philosophy of Biology: A Very Short Introduction.Samir Okasha - 2019 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Covering some of science's most divisive topics, such as philosophical issues in genetics and evolution, the philosophy of biology also encompasses more traditional philosophical questions, such as free will, essentialism, and nature vs nurture. Here, Samir Okasha outlines the core issues with which contemporary philosophy of biology is engaged.
  12.  63
    Reuniting philosophy and science to advance cancer research.Thomas Pradeu, Bertrand Daignan-Fornier, Andrew Ewald, Pierre-Luc Germain, Samir Okasha, Anya Plutynski, Sébastien Benzekry, Marta Bertolaso, Mina Bissell, Joel S. Brown, Benjamin Chin-Yee, Ian Chin-Yee, Hans Clevers, Laurent Cognet, Marie Darrason, Emmanuel Farge, Jean Feunteun, Jérôme Galon, Elodie Giroux, Sara Green, Fridolin Gross, Fanny Jaulin, Rob Knight, Ezio Laconi, Nicolas Larmonier, Carlo Maley, Alberto Mantovani, Violaine Moreau, Pierre Nassoy, Elena Rondeau, David Santamaria, Catherine M. Sawai, Andrei Seluanov, Gregory D. Sepich-Poore, Vanja Sisirak, Eric Solary, Sarah Yvonnet & Lucie Laplane - 2023 - Biological Reviews 98 (5):1668-1686.
    Cancers rely on multiple, heterogeneous processes at different scales, pertaining to many biomedical fields. Therefore, understanding cancer is necessarily an interdisciplinary task that requires placing specialised experimental and clinical research into a broader conceptual, theoretical, and methodological framework. Without such a framework, oncology will collect piecemeal results, with scant dialogue between the different scientific communities studying cancer. We argue that one important way forward in service of a more successful dialogue is through greater integration of applied sciences (experimental and clinical) (...)
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  13. The Relation between Kin and Multilevel Selection: An Approach Using Causal Graphs.Samir Okasha - 2016 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 67 (2):435-470.
    Kin selection and multilevel selection are alternative approaches for studying the evolution of social behaviour, the relation between which has long been a source of controversy. Many recent theorists regard the two approaches as ultimately equivalent, on the grounds that gene frequency change can be correctly expressed using either. However, this shows only that the two are formally equivalent, not that they offer equally good causal representations of the evolutionary process. This article articulates the notion of an ‘adequate causal representation’ (...)
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  14. Multilevel Selection and the Major Transitions in Evolution.Samir Okasha - 2005 - Philosophy of Science 72 (5):1013-1025.
    A number of recent biologists have used multi-level selection theory to help explain the major transitions in evolution. I argue that in doing so, they have shifted from a ‘synchronic’ to a ‘diachronic’ formulation of the levels of selection question. The implications of this shift in perspective are explored, in relation to an ambiguity in the meaning of multi-level selection. Though the ambiguity is well-known, it has never before been discussed in the context of the major transitions.
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  15. Kin Selection and Its Critics.Jonathan Birch & Samir Okasha - 2015 - BioScience 65 (1):22-32.
    Hamilton’s theory of kin selection is the best-known framework for understanding the evolution of social behavior but has long been a source of controversy in evolutionary biology. A recent critique of the theory by Nowak, Tarnita, and Wilson sparked a new round of debate, which shows no signs of abating. In this overview, we highlight a number of conceptual issues that lie at the heart of the current debate. We begin by emphasizing that there are various alternative formulations of Hamilton’s (...)
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  16.  5
    Function in the Light of Frequency-dependent Selection.Samir Okasha - 2022 - Australasian Philosophical Review 6 (4):386-399.
    Christie, Brusse, et al. claim that the ‘selected effect’ (SE) theory of function is premised on a simplistic view of evolution. In complex evolutionary scenarios, in particular those involving frequency-dependent selection (FDS), the SE theory fails, they argue, since citing a trait’s SE function does not serve to explain why the trait exists. I argue that where FDS leads to a stable equilibrium, at which all individuals’ trait values constitute a ‘best response’ to the rest of the population, the SE (...)
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  17. (1 other version)What did Hume really show about induction?Samir Okasha - 2001 - Philosophical Quarterly 51 (204):307-327.
    Many philosophers agree that Hume was not simply objecting to inductive inferences on the grounds of their logical invalidity and that his description of our inductive behaviour was inadequate, but none the less regard his argument against induction as irrefutable. I argue that this constellation of opinions contains a serious tension. In the light of the tension, I re-examine Hume’s actual sceptical argument and show that the argument as it stands is valid but unsound. I argue that it can only (...)
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  18. Group adaptation, formal darwinism and contextual analysis.Samir Okasha & Cedric Paternotte - 2012 - Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25 (6):1127–1139.
    We consider the question: under what circumstances can the concept of adaptation be applied to groups, rather than individuals? Gardner and Grafen (2009, J. Evol. Biol.22: 659–671) develop a novel approach to this question, building on Grafen's ‘formal Darwinism’ project, which defines adaptation in terms of links between evolutionary dynamics and optimization. They conclude that only clonal groups, and to a lesser extent groups in which reproductive competition is repressed, can be considered as adaptive units. We re-examine the conditions under (...)
     
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  19. Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection--A Philosophical Analysis.Samir Okasha - 2008 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 59 (3):319-351.
    This paper provides a philosophical analysis of the ongoing controversy surrounding R.A. Fisher's famous ‘fundamental theorem’ of natural selection. The difference between the ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ interpretations of the theorem is explained. I argue that proponents of the modern interpretation have captured Fisher's intended meaning correctly and shown that the theorem is mathematically correct, pace the traditional consensus. However, whether the theorem has any real biological significance remains an unresolved issue. I argue that the answer depends on whether we accept (...)
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  20.  83
    Cancer and the Levels of Selection.Samir Okasha - 2024 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 75 (3):537-560.
    Cancer is often seen as a case of multilevel selection, in which selfish cancer cells pursue short-term proliferation to the detriment of the collective. Thus cancer cells are described as ‘cheats’, and an analogy is often drawn between the mechanisms by which organisms fight cancer and the mechanisms by which social groups enforce cooperation. Recently, Andy Gardner and Max Shpak and Jie Lu have argued that cancer is not a true case of multilevel selection, that cancer cells should be not (...)
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  21. Wright on the transmission of support: a Bayesian analysis.Samir Okasha - 2004 - Analysis 64 (2):139-146.
  22. (1 other version)Underdetermination, holism and the theory/data distinction.Samir Okasha - 2002 - Philosophical Quarterly 52 (208):303-319.
    I examine the argument that scientific theories are typically 'underdetermined' by the data, an argument which has often been used to combat scientific realism. I deal with two objections to the underdetermination argument: (i) that the argument conflicts with the holistic nature of confirmation, and (ii) that the argument rests on an untenable theory/data dualism. I discuss possible responses to both objections, and argue that in both cases the proponent of underdetermination can respond in ways which are individually plausible, but (...)
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  23. Laudan and Leplin on empirical equivalence.Samir Okasha - 1997 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 48 (2):251-256.
    In this paper, I explore Larry Laudan's and Jarrett Leplin's recent claim that empirically equivalent theories may be differentially confirmed. I show that their attempt to prise apart empirical equivalence and epistemic parity commits them to two principles of confirmation that Hempel demonstrated to be incompatible.
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  24.  82
    On the very idea of biological individuality.Samir Okasha - forthcoming - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
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  25. Why won't the group selection controversy go away?Samir Okasha - 2001 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 52 (1):25-50.
    The group selection controversy is about whether natural selection ever operates at the level of groups, rather than at the level of individual organisms. Traditionally, group selection has been invoked to explain the existence of altruistic behaviour in nature. However, most contemporary evolutionary biologists are highly sceptical of the hypothesis of group selection, which they regard as biologically implausible and not needed to explain the evolution of altruism anyway. But in their recent book, Elliot Sober and David Sloan Wilson [1998] (...)
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  26. On Arrow’s Theorem and Scientific Rationality: Reply to Morreau and Stegenga.Samir Okasha - 2015 - Mind 124 (493):279-294.
    In a recent article I compared the problem of theory choice, in which scientists must choose between competing theories, with the problem of social choice, in which society must choose between competing social alternatives. I argued that the formal machinery of social choice theory can be used to shed light on the problem of theory choice in science, an argument that has been criticized by Michael Morreau and Jacob Stegenga. This article replies to Morreau’s and Stegenga’s criticisms.
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  27. Rational Choice, Risk Aversion, And Evolution.Samir Okasha - 2007 - Journal of Philosophy 104 (5):217-235.
  28.  82
    Biological altruism.Samirn D. Okasha - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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  29. Multi-level selection, covariance and contextual analysis.Samir Okasha - 2004 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 55 (3):481-504.
    Two alternative statistical approaches to modelling multi-level selection in nature, both found in the contemporary biological literature, are contrasted. The simple covariance approach partitions the total selection differential on a phenotypic character into within-group and between-group components, and identifies the change due to group selection with the latter. The contextual approach partitions the total selection differential into different components, using multivariate regression analysis. The two approaches have different implications for the question of what constitutes group selection and what does not. (...)
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  30.  27
    On geometric mean fitness: a reply to Takacs and Bourrat.Bengt Autzen & Samir Okasha - 2022 - Biology and Philosophy 37 (5):1-7.
    In a recent paper, Takacs and Bourrat (Biol Philos 37:12, 2022) examine the use of geometric mean reproductive output as a measure of biological fitness. We welcome Takacs and Bourrat’s scrutiny of a fitness definition that some philosophers have adopted uncritically. We also welcome Takacs and Bourrat’s attempt to marry the philosophical literature on fitness with the biological literature on mathematical measures of fitness. However, some of the main claims made by Takacs and Bourrat are not correct, while others are (...)
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  31. Individuals, groups, fitness and utility: Multi-level selection meets social choice theory.Samir Okasha - 2009 - Biology and Philosophy 24 (5):561-584.
    In models of multi-level selection, the property of Darwinian fitness is attributed to entities at more than one level of the biological hierarchy, e.g. individuals and groups. However, the relation between individual and group fitness is a controversial matter. Theorists disagree about whether group fitness should always, or ever, be defined as total (or average) individual fitness. This paper tries to shed light on the issue by drawing on work in social choice theory, and pursuing an analogy between fitness and (...)
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  32. Does Hume's argument against induction rest on a quantifier-shift fallacy?Samir Okasha - 2005 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 105 (2):253-271.
    It is widely agreed that Hume's description of human inductive reasoning is inadequate. But many philosophers think that this inadequacy in no way affects the force of Hume's argument for the unjustifiability of inductive reasoning. I argue that this constellation of opinions contains a serious tension, given that Hume was not merely pointing out that induction is fallible. I then explore a recent diagnosis of where Hume's sceptical argument goes wrong, due to Elliott Sober. Sober argues that Hume committed a (...)
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  33. Genetic relatedness and the evolution of altruism.Samir Okasha - 2002 - Philosophy of Science 69 (1):138-149.
    In their recent book, Elliott Sober and David Wilson (1998) argue that evolutionary biologists have wrongly regarded kinship as the exclusive means by which altruistic behavior can evolve, at the expense of other mechanisms. I argue that Sober and Wilson overlook certain genetical considerations which suggest that kinship is likely to be a more powerful means for generating complex altruistic adaptations than the alternative mechanisms they propose.
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  34. Philosophy of Biology.Andrew Hamilton, Samir Okasha & Jay Odenbaugh - 2010 - In Fritz Allhoff (ed.), Philosophies of the Sciences. Malden, MA: Wiley‐Blackwell. pp. 184–212.
    This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction What Are the Biological Sciences (Not)? Systematics Ecology and Evolution Levels of Selection Conclusion References.
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  35. On niche construction and extended evolutionary theory.Samir Okasha - 2005 - Biology and Philosophy 20 (1):1-10.
  36. Population genetics.Samir Okasha - unknown - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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  37. Altruism, group selection and correlated interaction.Samir Okasha - 2005 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 56 (4):703-725.
    Group selection is one acknowledged mechanism for the evolution of altruism. It is well known that for altruism to spread by natural selection, interactions must be correlated; that is, altruists must tend to associate with one another. But does group selection itself require correlated interactions? Two possible arguments for answering this question affirmatively are explored. The first is a bad argument, for it rests on a product/process confusion. The second is a more subtle argument, whose validity (or otherwise) turns on (...)
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  38.  97
    Optimal Choice in the Face of Risk: Decision Theory Meets Evolution.Samir Okasha - 2011 - Philosophy of Science 78 (1):83-104.
    The problem of how to make optimal choices in the face of risk arises in both economics/decision theory and also evolutionary biology; in the former, ‘optimal’ means utility maximizing, while in the latter it means fitness maximizing. This article explores the links, thematic and formal, between the economic and evolutionary theories of optimal choice in risky situations, with particular reference to the relationship between utility and fitness. It is argued that the link is strongest between evolution and ‘nonexpected’ utility theory, (...)
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  39. The Evolution of Bayesian Updating.Samir Okasha - 2013 - Philosophy of Science 80 (5):745-757.
    An evolutionary basis for Bayesian rationality is suggested, by considering how natural selection would operate on an organism’s ‘policy’ for choosing an action depending on an environmental signal. It is shown that the evolutionarily optimal policy, as judged by the criterion of maximal expected reproductive output, is the policy that, for each signal, picks an action that maximizes conditional expected output given that signal. This suggests a possible route by which Bayes-rational creatures might have evolved.
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  40.  49
    Adaptation, fitness and the selection-optimality links.Samir Okasha & Cédric Paternotte - 2014 - Biology and Philosophy 29 (2):225-232.
    We critically examine a number of aspects of Grafen’s ‘formal Darwinism’ project. We argue that Grafen’s ‘selection-optimality’ links do not quite succeed in vindicating the working assumption made by behavioural ecologists and others—that selection will lead organisms to exhibit adaptive behaviour—since these links hold true even in the presence of strong genetic and developmental constraints. However we suggest that the selection-optimality links can profitably be viewed as constituting an axiomatic theory of fitness. Finally, we compare Grafen’s project with Fisher’s ‘fundamental (...)
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  41. The strategy of endogenization in evolutionary biology.Samir Okasha - 2018 - Synthese 198 (Suppl 14):3413-3435.
    Evolutionary biology is striking for its ability to explain a large and diverse range of empirical phenomena on the basis of a few general theoretical principles. This article offers a philosophical perspective on the way that evolutionary biology has come to achieve such impressive generality, by focusing on “the strategy of endogenization”. This strategy involves devising evolutionary explanations for biological features that were originally part of the background conditions, or scaffolding, against which such explanations take place. Where successful, the strategy (...)
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  42. The underdetermination of theory by data and the "strong programme" in the sociology of knowledge.Samir Okasha - 2000 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 14 (3):283 – 297.
    Advocates of the "strong programme" in the sociology of knowledge have argued that, because scientific theories are "underdetermined" by data, sociological factors must be invoked to explain why scientists believe the theories they do. I examine this argument, and the responses to it by J.R. Brown (1989) and L. Laudan (1996). I distinguish between a number of different versions of the underdetermination thesis, some trivial, some substantive. I show that Brown's and Laudan's attempts to refute the sociologists' argument fail. Nonetheless, (...)
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  43.  76
    Does the concept of “clade selection” make sense?Samir Okasha - 2003 - Philosophy of Science 70 (4):739-751.
    The idea that clades might be units of selection, defended by a number of biologists and philosophers of biology, is critically examined. I argue that only entities which reproduce, i.e. leave offspring, can be units of selection, and that a necessary condition of reproduction is that the offspring entity be able, in principle, to outlive its parental entity. Given that clades are monophlyetic by definition, it follows that clades do not reproduce, so it makes no sense to talk about a (...)
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  44. Causation in Biology.Samir Okasha - 2009 - In Helen Beebee, Christopher Hitchcock & Peter Menzies (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Causation. Oxford University Press UK. pp. 707--725.
  45.  27
    X *—Does Hume’s Argument Against Induction Rest on a Quantifier-Shift Fallacy?Samir Okasha - 2005 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 105 (1):237-255.
    It is widely agreed that Hume’s description of human inductive reasoning is inadequate. But many philosophers think that this inadequacy in no way affects the force of Hume’s argument for the unjustifiability of inductive reasoning. I argue that this constellation of opinions contains a serious tension, given that Hume was not merely pointing out that induction is fallible. I then explore a recent diagnosis of where Hume’s sceptical argument goes wrong, due to Elliott Sober. Sober argues that Hume committed a (...)
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  46.  33
    On Hamilton’s Rule and Inclusive Fitness Theory with Nonadditive Payoffs.Samir Okasha - 2016 - Philosophy of Science 83 (5):873-883.
    Hamilton’s theory of inclusive fitness is a widely used framework for studying the evolution of social behavior, but controversy surrounds its status. Hamilton originally derived his famous rb > c rule for the spread of a social gene by assuming additivity of costs and benefits. However, it has recently been argued that the additivity assumption can be dispensed with, so long as the −c and b terms are suitably defined, as partial regression coefficients. I argue that this way of generalizing (...)
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  47.  93
    Biological ontology and hierarchical organization: a defence of rank freedom.Samir Okasha - 2011 - In Brett Calcott & Kim Sterelny (eds.), The Major Transitions in Evolution Revisited. MIT Press. pp. 53--64.
    This chapter presents a displacement of the organism as a privileged level of analysis in evolutionary biology. It is concerned with the ontology of biology systems, with particular reference to hierarchical organization. It argues that the concept of a rank-free hierarchy can be transposed to the major transitions hierarchy, with interesting consequences. This chapter shows that the idea of rank freedom makes good sense of a number of facets of the recent discussion of evolutionary transitions and multilevel selection. It suggests (...)
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  48. Social justice, genomic justice and the veil of ignorance: Harsanyi meets Mendel.Samir Okasha - 2012 - Economics and Philosophy 28 (1):43-71.
    John Harsanyi and John Rawls both used the veil of ignorance thought experiment to study the problem of choosing between alternative social arrangements. With his ‘impartial observer theorem’, Harsanyi tried to show that the veil of ignorance argument leads inevitably to utilitarianism, an argument criticized by Sen, Weymark and others. A quite different use of the veil-of-ignorance concept is found in evolutionary biology. In the cell-division process called meiosis, in which sexually reproducing organisms produce gametes, the chromosome number is halved; (...)
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  49.  70
    3 Species and Organisms: What Are the Problems?Ellen Clarke & Samir Okasha - 2013 - In Frederic Bouchard & Philippe Huneman (eds.), From Groups to Individuals: Evolution and Emerging Individuality. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 55.
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  50. Fodor on cognition, modularity, and adaptationism.Samir Okasha - 2003 - Philosophy of Science 70 (1):68-88.
    This paper critically examines Jerry Fodor's latest attacks on evolutionary psychology. Contra Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, Fodor argues (i) there is no reason to think that human cognition is a Darwinian adaptation in the first place, and (ii) there is no valid inference from adaptationism about the mind to massive modularity. However, Fodor maintains (iii) that there is a valid inference in the converse direction, from modularity to adaptationism, but (iv) that the language module is an exception to the (...)
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