Celso Neto (University of Calgary)
This paper defends lineage pluralism; the view that biological lineages are not a single, unified type of entity. I analyze aspects of evolutionary theory, phylogenetics, and developmental biology to show that these areas appeal to distinct notions of lineage. Based on this information, I formulate three arguments for lineage pluralism. These arguments undercut the main motivations for lineage monism, namely, the view that biological lineages are a single, unified type of entity. Though this view is rarely made explicit, it is often assumed in philosophy and biology. Hence, this paper sheds light on the implicit monistic assumption, and shows why lineage pluralism should be adopted instead.
