Proximate Vs Evolution

There are many important philosophical concepts that we have learned this year. The one that I have chosen to focus on is the idea of niche construction and evolutionary developmental biology, and relate it to different forms of causation. The article that I used as my focus is “EvoDevo and Niche Construction: Building Bridges” by Laland, Odling-Smee, and Gilbert. In this article, both niche construction and evolutionary developmental biology are talked about. The main claim is that both of these concepts have much in common. Niche construction, as defined by these authors, is said to be “the process whereby organisms, through their metabolism, their activities and their choices, modify their own and/or each other’s niches” (cite). Evolutionary …show more content…
It also talks about how niche construction could provide a channel to integrate evolutionary and developmental biology. The author argues these claims through multiple examples, many involving nature, and complex biological language. There are also four dichotomies that are mentioned that have been used to dismiss the role of development in evolution. The one that I have chosen to focus on in this paper is the idea of proximate vs. ultimate. According to Wiley Online Library, “Proximate (immediate) causes are those dealing with events in the lifetime of an individual that shape its development. Ultimate (evolutionary) causes are those that arise because natural selection has shaped the proximate mechanisms in the past” (cite). This specific section focuses on the idea that niche construction emphasizes reciprocal causation, which renders developmental processes as evolutionarily causal. I have taken the stance that this section emphasizes, which is that niche construction and developmental evolution have a reciprocal relationship. An example is illustrated immediately following the claims, which involves a goldenrod …show more content…
Reciprocal and semiotic causation are just two types I have talked about. This chapter examines event and agent causation, and the similarities and differences between the two. Event causation is something that happens as the result of an event. Agent causation states that the cause of some event is not another event but an agent of some kind. This kind of causation can relate to niche construction and evolutionary developmental biology. An event, such as deforestation, can cause organisms to relocate or it can cause them to adapt to their changing environment. This would be a reconstructed niche. Climate change is causing different animals evolutionarily change patterns. Different species of fish are migrating sooner because of the warmer weather, and other organisms, such as mosquitos, are hibernating later (cite). This change in events is causing the genes throughout generations to be altered to fit the climate. A good example of agent causation and evolutionary development is how rhinos and elephants are starting to be born without horns and tusks, respectively. This is because people continuously hunt and kills these animals for the items. The evolution is a direct response to human action. Overall, causation clearly shows the similarities between niche construction and evolutionary developmental biology in that multiple events and agents can force a change in