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Category: Natural Classification

This is part of a series of first rough drafts of a book I am working on with Dr Malte Ebach of UNSW. It is not citeable nor is it necessarily clear or correct.

Are species theoretical objects?

[Note: this is a paper that has sat in my drawer for a while now. I am posting it to follow from my last post on the theological origins of species. If species are not ranks in biology, what are they?]

It is often claimed that species are the units of evolution, but this is not defined or clearly explained. In this paper I will argue that species are phenomenal objects that stand in need of explanation, but that they are not objects required by any theory of biology. I further define, or rather describe, species as the genealogical cluster of various lineages at the genetic, haplotype, genomic, organismic, and population level, in keeping with my previous discussions.

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Ooh! Shiny!

Just got the draft cover art of my new book with Malte Ebach: I designed the logo myself… clever, hey?

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Update

As readers may have noticed, I have been pretty inactive here lately. This is because I have been finishing a book and sending it off…

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