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    Dennett and Dretske both argue that any property systemat... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The threat of epiphenomenal irrelevance cannot be simply dismissed as an obvious non-option

    Dennett and Dretske both argue that any property systematically correlated with adaptive behavior in evolved organisms must be granted causal status.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Evolution by natural selection explains why organisms have properties; explanatory indispensability indicates causal relevance.
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    • 2.If a property's presence vs. absence systematically affects organism fitness, it must be causally efficacious in producing behavior.
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    • 3.Denying causal status to adaptive properties leads to epiphenomenalism, which contradicts our best science of evolution.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Systematic correlation with adaptive behavior can result from epiphenomenal byproducts of selected-for physical properties.
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    • 2.Causal status requires difference-making at the level of physical mechanism, not merely statistical correlation with outcomes.
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    • 3.Evolution explains property persistence, not causal efficacy; selection pressures are upstream causes, not the properties themselves.
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    Related

    Causal status requires difference-making at the level of physical mechanism, not...Denying causal status to adaptive properties leads to epiphenomenalism, which co...Evolution by natural selection explains why organisms have properties; explanato...Evolution explains property persistence, not causal efficacy; selection pressure...
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    If a property's presence vs. absence systematically affects organism fitness, it...Systematic correlation with adaptive behavior can result from epiphenomenal bypr...The threat of epiphenomenal irrelevance cannot be simply dismissed as an obvious...

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    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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