b. 1985
Pierrick Bourrat is a contemporary philosopher of biology at Macquarie University, specializing in the foundations of evolutionary theory and philosophy of science. His work critically examines the conceptual underpinnings of natural selection, fitness, heritability, and the levels-of-selection debate. He is known for applying formal and conceptual analysis to clarify what evolutionary theory actually explains and how.
Developed a systematic critique of the cognitive and explanatory status of the theory of natural selection
Contributed formal analyses of fitness, heritability, and their role in evolutionary explanation
Advanced work on the levels-of-selection problem, distinguishing causal from statistical interpretations
Authored research clarifying the relationship between natural selection and adaptation as distinct explanatory claims
Engaged with the propensity interpretation of fitness and its philosophical limitations