Abstract:
There are a wide variety of distinct
stability concepts in science. Ecologists in particular have presupposed
several incompatible senses of the stability of biological communities and the
concept has been criticized as incoherent for that reason. Some philosophical
issues, such as what counts as a natural law, are also claimed to depend upon
stability properties. To clarify relations among different stability concepts,
I show how they can be unified into a common definitional framework.
Specifically, I argue three unproblematic concepts are jointly sufficient and
individually necessary for stability. This account clarifies philosophical
claims concerning stability. It also helps show why Lyapunov stability
inadequately defines ecological stability, and why one of the most common
empirical measures of ecological stability is flawed.