Adopts a new approach to discussing the concept of species, explicitly integrative and analytical, centering on issues of general significance such as pluralism and realism about species. It also draws on a broader range of disciplines and brings neglected cognitive, anthropological, and historical dimensions to philosophical debates over species.
Rob Wilson received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cornell University in1992, and has taught at Queen's University, Canada (1992-1996), and theUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1996-2001), where he was a memberof the Cognitive Science Group at the university's Beckman Institute forAdvanced Science and Technology. Since July 2000 he has been professor ofphilosophy at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. His areas ofprofessional interest are the philosophy of the mind, the foundations ofcognitive science, and the philosophy of biology. He recently editedSpecies: New Interdisciplinary Essays (MIT Press, 1999), and with Frank Keil, is the general editor of The MIT Press Encyclopedia of the CognitiveSciences (MIT Press, 1999).
This is a fresh, well-conceived collection on one of the most persistent problems in the philosophy of biology--the species problem. Unlike most anthologies, but like many species, it is cohesive and integrated. --Robert N. Brandon, Professor of Philsophy and Zoology, Duke University