Evolutionary epistemology is a theory, in metaphysics, applying the concepts of biological evolution to the growth of human knowledge and, in particular, scientific theories. It argues that human knowledge advances by trial and error, in which various competing conjectures are put to the test (ultimately by the real world, but also by empirical testing). As such, it bears remarkable similarities to the process of evolution by natural selection. Metaphysics (Greek words meta = after/beyond and physics = nature) is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of first principles and being (ontology). ... Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolutionary theory In the life sciences, evolution is a change in the traits of living organisms over generations, including the emergence of new species. ... Natural selection is the primary mechanism within the scientific theory of evolution, in that it alters the frequency of alleles within a population. ...

Karl Popper is considered by many to have given evolutionary epistemology its first comprehensive treatment, though Donald T. Campbell coined the phrase in 1974 (Schilpp, 1974). Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (July 28, 1902 – September 17, 1994), was an Austrian-born, British philosopher of science. ...

One of the hallmarks of evolutionary epistemology is the notion that empirical testing does not justify the truth of scientific theories, but rather that social and methodological processes select those theories with the closest "fit" to a given problem. The fitness of a theory, then, may be related to the concept of biological fit; that, although adaptation is the process by which a species survives the hazards of its environment, fitness in the present does not predict continued survival. Likewise, the mere fact that a theory has survived the most rigorous empirical tests available does not, in the calculus of probability, predict its ability to survive future testing. Popper used Newtonian physics as an example of a body of theories so thoroughly confirmed by testing that it was considered unassailable; only to be overturned by Einstein's bold insights into the nature of space-time. For the evolutionary epistemologist, all theories are true only provisionally, regardless of the degree of empirical testing they have survived. This article is primarily concerned with truth as it is used in the evaluation of propositions, sentences, and similar items. ... Look up Adaptation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Adaptation may refer to— Adaptation in biology, an anatomical structure, physiological process or behavioral trait that has evolved over a period of time by the process of natural selection that increases the likelihood of producing larger numbers of offspring or its reproductive... Classical mechanics is a model of the physics of forces acting upon bodies. ... For other topics related to Einstein see Einstein (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Memetics

Memetics is the scientific approach to evolutionary models of information transfer based on the concept of the meme. ...

References

• Schilpp, P. A., ed. The Philosophy of Karl R. Popper. LaSalle, IL. Open Court. 1974. See Campbell's essay, "Evolutionary Epistemology" on pp. 412-463.

1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

External links

• Evolutionary Epistemology (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-evolutionary/) from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/)
• Links on Evolutionary Theory and Memetics (http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/EVOMEMLI.html) from Principia Cybernetica Web (http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html)
• Selection Theory Bibliography (http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/g-cziko/stb/) by Gary A. Cziko and Donald T. Campbell