Essays on Darwinism - 1: Ontological Foundations

The problem tackled in this essay is to formulate "Darwinian" theory in a way which is divorced from any specifically biological interpretation. For my purposes, the crucial constraint on this abstract formulation of Darwinian theory is that it must qualify as a realisation of unjustified variation and selective retention in the sense of D.T. Campbell (1960a; 1960b; 1974a; 1974b)---for it is (arguably) only thus that Darwinian evolution can lead to the spontaneous growth of "knowledge". I hope that such an abstract formulation might help to clarify the application of the theory even in its native biological setting; but, more importantly, it seems to me that this exercise is a necessary pre-requisite for the valid application of Darwinian principles in any domain other than conventional, terrestrial, biology---such as the emerging field of study commonly referred to as Artificial Life. In attempting to solve the problem of formulating a satisfactory, abstract, version of Darwinism, I i..