Subjects of the World: Darwin's Rhetoric and the Study of Agency in Nature

268 Pages·2009·1.03 MB·English

by  Paul Sheldon Davies

Subjects of the World

Subjects of
the World
Darwin’s Rhetoric and the
Study of Agency in Nature
Paul Sheldon davieS
The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London
PAUL SHELDON DAVIES lives in Newport News, Virginia, with
his wife and daughter. His first book, Norms of Nature: Naturalism and
the Nature of Functions, was published in 2001. He teaches philosophy at
the College of William and Mary.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2009 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-13762-9 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-13762-7 (cloth)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Davies, Paul Sheldon.
Subjects of the world : Darwin’s rhetoric and the study of
agency in nature / Paul Sheldon Davies.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-13762-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-13762-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Teleology. 2. Philosophy of nature. 3. Evolution.
4. Agent (Philosophy) 5. Darwin, Charles, 1809–1882—Literary
style. I. Title.
BD581.D25 2009
124—dc22
2008042033
b The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
For CaSSondra Cailin
My daughter
SubjeCt oF the world
More than iMagination
Can eMbraCe
or bear to behold

Contents
Part one
A Progressive Orientation: Naturalism as Exploration 1
1 The Vividness of Truth: Darwin’s Romantic Rhetoric and
the Evolutionary Framework 3
2 Our Most Vexing Problem: Conceptual Conservatism
and Conceptual Imperialism 19
3 Naturalism as Exploration: The Elements of Reform 35
Part two
The Allure of Agency: ‘Purpose’ in Biology 53
4 The Real Heart of Darwinian Evolutionary Biology 55
5 A Formative Power of a Self-Propagating Kind: Natural
Purposes and the Concept Location Project 76
6 A Persistent Mode of Understanding: The Psychological
Power of ‘Purpose’ 104
Part three
The Illusions of Agency: ‘Free Will’ and ‘Moral
Responsibility’ 135
7 The Death of an Aphorism: The Psychology of Free Will 137
8 The Bare Possibility of Our Opinion: Libertarian Imperialism 170
9 Words Give Us a Special Ability: Compatibilist Conservatism 193
Appendix 227 Notes 229 Appreciation and Acknowledgments 239
References 243 Index 253

1
N
A Progressive Orientation
Naturalism as Exploration