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The integrative approach to inferring homology: morphology and development combined

cam.issuedOnline2022-06-23
dc.contributor.authorNejad Kourki, Arsham
dc.contributor.orcidNejad Kourki, Arsham [0000-0002-4508-4653]
dc.date.accessioned2022-06-29T19:46:19Z
dc.date.available2022-06-29T19:46:19Z
dc.date.issued2022-08
dc.date.submitted2021-06-18
dc.date.updated2022-06-29T19:46:19Z
dc.description.abstract<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Reconstructing ancestral species is a challenging endeavour: fossils are often scarce or enigmatic, and inferring ancestral characters based on novel molecular approaches (e.g. comparative genomics or developmental genetics) has long been controversial. A key philosophical challenge pertinent at present is the lack of a theoretical framework capable of evaluating inferences of homology made through integration of multiple kinds of evidence (e.g. molecular, developmental, or morphological). Here, I present just such a framework. I start with a brief history and critical assessment of attempts at inferring morphological homology through developmental genetics. I then bring attention to a recent model of homology, namely Character Identity Mechanisms (DiFrisco et al. 2020), intended partly to elucidate the relationships between morphological characters, developmental genetics, and homology. I utilise and build on this model to construct the evaluative framework mentioned above, which judges the epistemic value of evidence of each kind in each particular case based on three proposed criteria: <jats:italic>effectiveness</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>admissibility</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>informativity</jats:italic>, as well as providing a generalised guideline on how it can be scientifically operationalised. I then point out the evolution of the eumetazoan body plan as a case in point where the application of this framework can yield satisfactory results, both empirically and conceptually. I will conclude with a discussion on some potential implications for more general philosophy of biology and philosophy of science, especially surrounding evidential integration, models and explanation, and reductionism.</jats:p>
dc.identifier.doi10.17863/CAM.85927
dc.identifier.eissn1572-8404
dc.identifier.issn0169-3867
dc.identifier.others10539-022-09846-1
dc.identifier.other9846
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/338514
dc.languageen
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.publisher.urlhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10539-022-09846-1
dc.subjectArticle
dc.subjectHomology
dc.subjectDevelopmental mechanism
dc.subjectEvidential integration
dc.subjectEumetazoan body plan
dc.subjectPhylogenetics
dc.titleThe integrative approach to inferring homology: morphology and development combined
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.dateAccepted2022-03-18
prism.issueIdentifier4
prism.publicationNameBiology &amp; Philosophy
prism.volume37
rioxxterms.licenseref.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
rioxxterms.versionVoR
rioxxterms.versionofrecord10.1007/s10539-022-09846-1

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