Disentangling organic and technological progress: An epistemological clarification introducing a key distinction between two levels of axiology
Disentangling organic and technological progress: An epistemological clarification introducing a key distinction between two levels of axiology
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DOI：
10.1016/j.shpsc.2018.10.011
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发表时间：
2019-02-01
影响因子：
0.9
通讯作者：
De Cesare, Silvia
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
De Cesare, Silvia
“进步”的概念可以定义为朝着更好的方向变化，意味着描述性和价值论元素。 “有机进步”是指应用于生命历史的概念，而“技术进步”是指应用于技术制品历史的概念。本文旨在通过提出一种也解释技术进步的认识论视角，理清有关进化论中有机进步概念的概念问题。我的论点分为四个部分。在第二节中，我将借鉴一些杰出进化生物学家的思想，指出一个理论主张，根据该主张，有机进步的特定概念与进化论是一致的。在第 3 节中，我展示了将该理论主张应用于有机领域时出现的一些限制和问题。在第四节中，我考虑了为什么这些应用问题经常被低估：我假设这与有机进步和技术进步之间经常进行的类比有关。最后，在第五节中，我将通过提出两个层次的价值论之间的区别来继续分析这个类比。我认为这种区别避免了在谈论进步时一些常见的混淆。
The notion of "progress" can be defined as a directional change towards the better, implying both a descriptive and an axiological element. "Organic progress" refers to this notion applied to the history of life, whereas "technological progress" refers to this notion applied to the history of technological artifacts. This paper aims to disentangle conceptual questions about the notion of organic progress with respect to evolutionary theory, by proposing an epistemological perspective that also accounts for technological progress. My argument is set out in four sections. In section 2, drawing on the thought of some eminent evolutionary biologists, I will pinpoint a theoretical claim according to which a specific notion of organic progress is consistent with evolutionary theory. In section 3, I show some limits and problems that arise in the application of this theoretical claim to the organic domain. In section 4, I consider why these problems with application are often underestimated: I hypothesize that this is linked to the analogy frequently made between organic and technological progress. Finally, in section 5, I will carry on the analysis of this analogy by proposing a distinction between two levels of axiology. I claim that this distinction avoids several common confusions when talking about progress.