主题：A physical interpretation of drift in a deterministic setup
时间：2024年11月8日 9:30—11:30
地点：清华大学人文楼124
主讲人：Pierrick Bourrat (Macquarie University)
讲座摘要：
Drift is often characterized in statistical terms. Yet such a purely statistical characterization is ambiguous for it can accept multiple physical interpretations. Because of this ambiguity it is important to distinguish what sorts of processes can lead to this statistical phenomenon. After presenting a physical interpretation of drift originating from the most popular interpretation of fitness, namely the propensity interpretation, I propose a different one starting from an analysis of the concept of drift made by GodfreySmith. Further on, I show how my interpretation relates to previous attempts to make sense of the notion of expected value in deterministic setups. The upshot of my analysis is a physical conception of drift that is compatible with both a deterministic and indeterministic world.
主讲人简介：
Pierrick Bourrat is a Senior Lecturer and DECRA Fellow at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He specialises in philosophy of biology. Together with Paul Griffiths, He heads the Theory and Method in Biosciences group.
From 2017 to 2020 Pierrick Bourrat was a Macquarie University Research Fellow. He completed a PhD in philosophy of biology at the University of Sydney in 2015.
His work focuses on core concepts of evolutionary theory, such as fitness and heritability, as well as evolutionary transitions in individuality.
Pierrick Bourrat's other interests include causation, the interplay between biological and cultural evolution and the evolution of religious beliefs.
