Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques

Since 1995, 15 new species have been described in the hominin clade (including all forms closer to extant humans than to extant chimpanzees and bonobos). Through an approach combining epistemology and the philosophy of science, this note shows that the diversity of hominins is not only a matter of q...

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Main Author: Mathilde Lequin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société d'Anthropologie de Paris 2022-07-01
Series:Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/10017
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author Mathilde Lequin
author_facet Mathilde Lequin
author_sort Mathilde Lequin
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description Since 1995, 15 new species have been described in the hominin clade (including all forms closer to extant humans than to extant chimpanzees and bonobos). Through an approach combining epistemology and the philosophy of science, this note shows that the diversity of hominins is not only a matter of quantification, but also a biological and anthropological issue. Through a review of the history of debates on past human diversity and an analysis of the different biases that influence assessments of the number of hominin species, this note puts forward several avenues to update the theoretical framework of palaeoanthropology, by proposing a critique of the bush-like model of evolution in favour of a reticulate model, by bringing out the philosophical assumptions underlying the systematic description of new hominin species and through a discussion on the specifically anthropological dimension of past human diversity.
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spelling doaj-art-3f404a8be2c94abc84df4b5c71955d782025-01-30T11:27:44ZengSociété d'Anthropologie de ParisBulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris1777-54692022-07-013410.4000/bmsap.10017Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiquesMathilde LequinSince 1995, 15 new species have been described in the hominin clade (including all forms closer to extant humans than to extant chimpanzees and bonobos). Through an approach combining epistemology and the philosophy of science, this note shows that the diversity of hominins is not only a matter of quantification, but also a biological and anthropological issue. Through a review of the history of debates on past human diversity and an analysis of the different biases that influence assessments of the number of hominin species, this note puts forward several avenues to update the theoretical framework of palaeoanthropology, by proposing a critique of the bush-like model of evolution in favour of a reticulate model, by bringing out the philosophical assumptions underlying the systematic description of new hominin species and through a discussion on the specifically anthropological dimension of past human diversity.https://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/10017variabilitytaxonomyhomininsepistemologydiversity
spellingShingle Mathilde Lequin
Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques
Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris
variability
taxonomy
hominins
epistemology
diversity
title Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques
title_full Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques
title_fullStr Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques
title_full_unstemmed Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques
title_short Comment définir l’humain à partir de sa diversité ? Questions épistémologiques et enjeux philosophiques
title_sort comment definir l humain a partir de sa diversite questions epistemologiques et enjeux philosophiques
topic variability
taxonomy
hominins
epistemology
diversity
url https://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/10017
work_keys_str_mv AT mathildelequin commentdefinirlhumainapartirdesadiversitequestionsepistemologiquesetenjeuxphilosophiques