Are Random Drift and Natural Selection Conceptually Distinct?

The latter half of thetwentieth century has been marked by debates inevolutionary biology over the relativesignificance of natural selection and randomdrift: the so-called ``neutralist/selectionist''debates. Yet John Beatty has argued that it isdifficult, if not impossible, to distinguisht...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology & philosophy 2002-01, Vol.17 (1), p.33-53
Main Author: Millstein, Roberta L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Evolution
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Summary:The latter half of thetwentieth century has been marked by debates inevolutionary biology over the relativesignificance of natural selection and randomdrift: the so-called ``neutralist/selectionist''debates. Yet John Beatty has argued that it isdifficult, if not impossible, to distinguishthe concept of random drift from the concept ofnatural selection, a claim that has beenaccepted by many philosophers of biology. Ifthis claim is correct, then theneutralist/selectionist debates seem at bestfutile, and at worst, meaningless. I reexaminethe issues that Beatty raises, and argue thatrandom drift and natural selection, conceivedas processes, can be distinguished from one another.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0169-3867
1572-8404
DOI:10.1023/A:1012990800358