Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts
Major
Philosophy
Date of Defense
7-14-2006
Graduate Advisor
Berit Brogaard
Committee
Dr. Andrew Black
Dr. George Streeter
Abstract
Contextual knowledge-attribution and natural selection are both processes that allow knowledge-attributions and organisms to evolve, respectively. The difference between Contextual knowledge-attribution and natural selection is the existence of intention: natural selection is an unintentional process that is possible because of random physical variations while Contextual knowledge-attribution is an intentional process that is possible because of random memetic variations. Evolutionary Contextualism, as a memetic theory, is the theory that knowledge-attributions evolve based upon unequal probabilities within a context created by falsifiable standards that are dependent upon attributer intentions. If Contextualism is a memetic theory that concerns knowledge, and memetic evolution is an evolutionary process, I conclude that biological evolution has significant implications for Contextualism.
OCLC Number
518237920
Recommended Citation
Gowan, John Mark, "Evolutionary Implications on Contextualism" (2006). Theses. 215.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/215