At 11:53 AM 11/22/2007, you wrote: >"roughly, he argues that nature can't prospectively "see" the kinds >of things that we retrospectively typically say are being "selected for." "
Seriously, does any respected biologist hold such a teleological view of selection? Talk about a straw man.... Natural selection has four parts: 1) Random variation occurs 2) Some variations confer selective advantages 3) Those organisms with the advantages have more offspring survive to reproductive age (i.e., reproductive success) 4) The advantageous variations are thus represented to a greater degree in the next generation. Repeat. Nothing teleological there. If Fodor is really saying what you claim, then he apparently has no understanding of evolution. -- Jim ---
