Philosophy of Behavioral Biology

This volume is the first to give a broad overview of issues in the philosophy of behavioral science, at present
one of the fastest growing fields in philosophy of science/biology. It includes papers by professional
philosophers and philosophers of science, as well as practicing scientists, covering three main themes:
genetic, developmental, and evolutionary explanations of behavior. It will be of interest to philosophers of
science and biology, as well as to scientists in almost any subfield of biology or psychology, especially those
that relate to biological explanations of human and non-human animal behavior.
This book includes revised and extended papers, most of which were originally presented at the
international conference, Biological Explanations of Behavior: Philosophical Perspectives , held at the
Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, in June 2008. The leading idea of the conference and of this
book is to address philosophical issues that arise from the most recent scientific findings in biological
research on behavior. In this way, the book exemplifies an approach to philosophy of science that is
informed by the current state of affairs in science itself.