User:AntonSukhov/sandbox/Karola Stotz

Karola Stotz (born 8 September 1963 in Neumüenster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) is a leading German scholar of philosophy of biology, cognitive science, and philosophy of science. She and Paul E. Griffiths pioneered the use of experimental philosophy methods in the field of philosophy of science. They are also considered leading experts in philosophical studies of non-genetic (exogenetic, extended) inheritance and Extended Evolutionary Synthesis.

Education and career
Stotz received her Magister Artium in Biology and Social Sciences (Anthropology) in 1993 (University of Mainz) and her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Ghent (Belgium) in 1999 under supervision of Gertrudis Van de Vijver and Werner Callebaut. In the period 1999-2007, she worked in different universities of Australia and United States of America. From 2008 until 2012 Stotz was Australian Research Fellow and, later, Bridging Support Fellow at Department of Philosophy, University of Sydney. At 2014 she received position of Senior Lecturer at Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University (Australia). From 2014, with Paul Griffiths, Stotz works on a Templeton World Charity Foundation project entitled: “Causal Foundations of Biological Information”.

Non-genetic inheritance and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis
In different works, Stotz argues for the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis and the inclusion of non-genetic (extended, exogenetic) inheritance mechanisms and processes in the explanation of evolution. According to Stotz, the modern theory of evolution should go beyond antinomy of biological vs cultural and revise more inclusive theories of gene-culture coevolution and niche construction. Such a revised theory of evolution should take into account genetic, epigenetic (molecular and cellular), behavioral, ecological, socio-cultural and cognitive-symbolic legacies. Stotz proves that the non-genetic inheritance by means of different types of environments (physical, biological, social) not only selects for particular variations but also produces them.

“Environments, particularly in the form of developmental environments, do not just select for variation, they also create new variation by inﬂuencing development through the liable transmission of non-genetic but heritable information.”

Developmental Niche Construction
Stotz introduced the concept of Developmental Niche Construction as an integrative framework for the studies of various non-genetic (exogenetic) inheritance mechanisms and for an explanation on how the environment (physical, biological or social) can construct new variations during individual development. This concept originated in the idea of the ‘ontogenetic niche’ introduced in 1987 by developmental psychobiologists Meredith West and Andrew King, and theory of 'niche construction' presented by biologist John Odling-Smee in 1988. Stotz juxtaposes Developmental Niche Construction with Niche Constriction Theory and its concept of the ‘Selective Niche’ that stresses the role of selection in evolution rather than the production of new variation in developmental systems.

Extended Evolutionary Psychology
In several works, Stotz argues that there is natural afﬁnity between the theoretical view of the nature of the mind and an understanding of how the mind developed and evolved. “Which kind of evolutionary theory you apply matters deeply to which kind of (evolutionary) psychology you get.” For example, the ideas of nativist’s evolutionary psychologists are often based on the evolutionary theory of Modern Synthesis and on explaining the origin of behavioral, social and cognitive capacities by the sudden appearance of genetically determined mental modules or representational systems. As an alternative, Stotz proposes the concept of the Extended Evolutionary Psychology based on ideas of Extended Evolutionary synthesis, Developmental Systems Theory and embodied, embedded, enacted and extended models of cognition. She states that these approaches are a more appropriate alternative to traditional cognitivism and methodological individualism because they emphasise the importance of external scaffolding of cognition through developmental, ecological, and cultural niche construction.

Selected publications

 * Griffiths, P. E., Stotz, K. (2018). Developmental Systems Theory as a Process Theory. In: Daniel J. Nicholson and John Dupre (Eds.) Everything Flows: Towards a Processual Philosophy of Biology. Oxford: OUP.
 * Stotz, K. (2014) Extended evolutionary psychology: the importance of transgenerational developmental plasticity // Frontiers in Psychology 5: 908. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00908
 * Griffiths, P., Stotz, K. (2013) Genetics and philosophy: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.
 * Stotz, K. (2017) Why developmental niche construction is not selective niche construction: and why it matters // Interface Focus, 7(5), 20160157.
 * Stotz, K. Allen, C. (2012) From cell-surface receptors to higher learning: a whole world of experience. In: Philosophy of Behavioral Biology. Katie Plaisance and Thomas Reydon (Eds.) Boston: Springer, 85-123.
 * Griffiths, P. E., Stotz, K. (2008) Experimental Philosophy of Science // Philosophy Compass, 3 (3): 507-721.