Traits of Contention: Character Identification and Comparative Thinking in Evolutionary, Developmental, and Behavioural Biology

Theme

Getting to grips with the evolution, development, and behavior of extant and extinct life forms requires fracturing them into distinct traits. But to do so with integrated dynamic systems like organisms is no neutral endeavor. There are deep, often unquestioned theoretical stances on what should count as a well-individualized trait. These stances bear important epistemic consequences for empirical investigations, since the kind of questions that we are able to ask and the answers we look for heavily depend on how traits are individuated, both in theory and in practice.

The modern human skull (Homo sapiens sp.), for instance, is defined by a variety of traits. These include (among others) a globular neurocranium, a small and non-protruding midface, a tall forehead with limited brow ridge, and a fully developed chin. Many practitioners, however, are reluctant in ascribing mechanistic independence or biological significance to all these traits – the chin being a famous example.
The goal of this workshop is to put into focus the relatively underexplored theoretical issue of trait individuation and to analyze the variety of practices of individuation across a variety of fields, with their distinct epistemic constraints and goals.

Questions we will consider include:

• What criteria should be used to distinguish genuine traits from arbitrary constructs or “pseudo-traits”?
• How does trait identification impact concepts like homology and novelty?
• What is the relationship between adaptationism and trait individuation?
• How does how we individuate traits influence the measurement of evolutionary trends, such as an increase in complexity?
• How do trait identification criteria relate to underlying inheritance systems?

A fruitful terrain for developing this reflection is provided by examining (i) contentious cases of trait demarcation, description, and interpretation and (ii) the different consequences for their role as common denominators/units of generalization in comparative research. If the human chin is, under some account, not a bona fide trait, how does its reification impact evolutionary explanations? If ‘symbolic behavior’ is not construed as a significant, individualized trait in hominin evolution, how does this impact comparative research in human behavioral and cognitive evolution?
The workshop is meant to provide a venue for philosophers and scientists to think about character identification and its implications from a variety of perspectives and disciplinary fields.