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Explanatory Pluralism in Paleobiology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Todd A. Grantham
Todd A. Grantham*
Affiliation:
College of Charleston
*
†Department of Philosophy, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424.
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Abstract

This paper is a defense of “explanatory pluralism” (i.e., the view that some events can be correctly explained in two distinct ways). To defend pluralism, I identify two distinct (but compatible) styles of explanation in paleobiology. The first approach (“actual sequence explanation”) traces out the particular forces that affect each species. The second approach treats the trend as “passive” or “random” diffusion away from a boundary in morphological space. I argue that while these strategies are distinct, some trends are correctly explained in both ways. Further, since neither strategy can be reduced or eliminated from paleobiology, we should accept that both strategies can provide correct explanations for a single trend.

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Footnotes

‡

Thanks to John Bickle, Carla Fehr, David Jablonski, Dan McShea, and Shaun Nichols for generous and helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

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