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    It is not the case that Elliott Sober's distinction between selection-for and drift requires that drift explanations invoke population size as the primary explanatory variable.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Drift explanations can invoke effective population size, generation time, or allele frequency—multiple variables beyond just N that matter equally.
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    • 2.Population size is necessary but not sufficient; drift explanations require assumptions about mutation, mating systems, and demographic structure.
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    • 3.Sober's distinction may not require population size as *primary*; selection-for/drift differ in causal structure, not measurement emphasis.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Drift's defining feature is random sampling error, which scales mathematically with inverse population size, making it the essential variable.
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    • 2.Sober's distinction aims to separate drift from selection mechanistically; population size directly instantiates the drift mechanism itself.
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    • 3.Explanations invoking drift without population size fail to specify what makes the process drift rather than deterministic selection.
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