TY - JOUR
T1 - Cause and effect in biology revisited
T2 - Is Mayr's proximate-ultimate dichotomy still useful?
AU - Laland, Kevin N.
AU - Sterelny, Kim
AU - Odling-Smee, John
AU - Hoppitt, William
AU - Uller, Tobias
PY - 2011/12/16
Y1 - 2011/12/16
N2 - Fifty years ago, Ernst Mayr published a hugely influential paper on the nature of causation in biology, in which he distinguished between proximate and ultimate causes. Mayr equated proximate causation with immediate factors (for example, physiology) and ultimate causation with evolutionary explanations (for example, natural selection). He argued that proximate and ultimate causes addressed different questions and were not alternatives. Mayr's account of causation remains widely accepted today, with both positive and negative ramifications. Several current debates in biology (for example, over evolution and development, niche construction, cooperation, and the evolution of language) are linked by a common axis of acceptance/rejection of Mayr's model of causation. We argue that Mayr's formulation has acted to stabilize the dominant evolutionary paradigm against change but may now hamper progress in the biological sciences.
AB - Fifty years ago, Ernst Mayr published a hugely influential paper on the nature of causation in biology, in which he distinguished between proximate and ultimate causes. Mayr equated proximate causation with immediate factors (for example, physiology) and ultimate causation with evolutionary explanations (for example, natural selection). He argued that proximate and ultimate causes addressed different questions and were not alternatives. Mayr's account of causation remains widely accepted today, with both positive and negative ramifications. Several current debates in biology (for example, over evolution and development, niche construction, cooperation, and the evolution of language) are linked by a common axis of acceptance/rejection of Mayr's model of causation. We argue that Mayr's formulation has acted to stabilize the dominant evolutionary paradigm against change but may now hamper progress in the biological sciences.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=83755169498&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1210879
DO - 10.1126/science.1210879
M3 - Review article
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 334
SP - 1512
EP - 1516
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6062
ER -