Simply put, says Stamos (philosophy, York U., Toronto), the problem is whether biological species are real and if so, what the nature of their reality is. He synthesizes the literature on the problem, criticizes and interprets modern views, argues that the modern species problem is part of the old metaphysical problem of universals and can answer to the same solutions, and develops an entirely new theory of species based on the ontology of relations. This is a paperbound reprint of a 2003 book. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)