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Transformations of Lamarckism
In 1809--the year of Charles Darwin's birth--Jean-Baptiste Lamarck published Philosophie zoologique, the first comprehensive and systematic theory of biological evolution. The Lamarckian approach emphasizes the generation of developmental variations; Darwinism stresses selection. Lamarck's ideas were eventually eclipsed by Darwinian concepts, especially after the emergence of the Modern Synthesis in the twentieth century. The different approaches--which can be seen as complementary rather than mutually exclusive--have important implications for the kinds of questions biologists ask and for the type of research they conduct. Lamarckism has been evolving--or, in Lamarckian terminology, transforming--since Philosophie zoologique's description of biological processes mediated by \"subtle fluids.\" Essays in this book focus on new developments in biology that make Lamarck's ideas relevant not only to modern empirical and theoretical research but also to problems in the philosophy of biology. Contributors discuss the historical transformations of Lamarckism from the 1820s to the 1940s, and the different understandings of Lamarck and Lamarckism; the Modern Synthesis and its emphasis on Mendelian genetics; theoretical and experimental research on such \"Lamarckian\" topics as plasticity, soft (epigenetic) inheritance, and individuality; and the importance of a developmental approach to evolution in the philosophy of biology. The book shows the advantages of a \"Lamarckian\" perspective on evolution. Indeed, the development-oriented approach it presents is becoming central to current evolutionary studies--as can be seen in the burgeoning field of Evo-Devo. Transformations of Lamarckism makes a unique contribution to this research.
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Evolutionary history : uniting history and biology to understand life on Earth
\"This book introduces a new field that unites history and biology to create a fuller understanding of the past\"-- Provided by publisher.
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Biohistory
Western civilisation is on a path to destruction. In coming decades, economies will shrink, democracy will retreat and nations crumble. The long-term result will be grinding poverty, superstition and disease. This isn't scaremongering - it is science. In Biohistory: The Decline and Fall of the West, Dr Jim Penman, PhD, details a revolutionary new theory about why civilizations collapse. For the first time, Penman directly links human biology with the rise and fall of civilisations-a cataclysmic relationship that brought the Romans, the ancient Greeks and all other Empires to their knees. Based on pioneering scientific research, Penman reveals the deadly, invisible forces at play across human and animal history-and why the West will be the next victim. Biohistory makes use of the latest findings in epigenetics, the study of how the environment affects our genes. Presented in easy-to-digest language, it draws on history, biology, anthropology and economics to explain the real drivers of social change and how evolutionary mechanisms designed to adapt animal social behaviour to changing food conditions determine the fate of civilisation. The West's only hope of avoiding catastrophe lies with the biological sciences, but is it already too late to change the course of history?.
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Essential readings in evolutionary biology
Traces scholarly thought from the nineteenth-century birth of evolutionary biology to the mapping of the human genome through forty-eight essays, arranged in chronological order, each preceded by a one-page essay that explains the significance of the chosen work.
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Genesis : the evolution of biology
This book presents a history of the last two centuries of biology. It covers early evolutionary biology — Lamarck, Cuvier, Darwin, and Wallace through to Mayr and the neodarwinian synthesis — and also discusses social implications, the struggles with our religious understanding, and the interweaving of genetics into evolutionary theory. The book's account is an integration of the cytological tradition and the new understanding of the diversification of life coming from comparative analyses of complete microbial genomes. The book includes the history of research and theories about symbiosis in evolution, research on microbial evolution, bacterial evolution, and symbiosis in evolution.
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The Evolution of Darwinism
No other scientific theory has had as tremendous an impact on our understanding of the world as Darwin's theory as outlined in his Origin of Species, yet from the very beginning the theory has been subject to controversy. The Evolution of Darwinism, first published in 2004, focuses on three issues of debate - the nature of selection, the nature and scope of adaptation, and the question of evolutionary progress. It traces the varying interpretations to which these issues were subjected from the beginning and the fierce contemporary debates that still rage on and explores their implications for the greatest questions of all: Where we come from, who we are and where we might be heading. Written in a clear and non-technical style, this book will be of use as a textbook for students in the philosophy of science who need to become familiar with the background to the debates about evolution.
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In the blink of an eye : how vision kick-started the big bang of evolution
The Cambrian explosion is the 'big bang' of evolution - a period of less than five million years during which life on Earth rapidly developed both armaments and defences. Animals suddenly became both hunters and the hunted, and the number of animal groups with hard body parts mushroomed from three to 38. But why did the explosion happen when it did? Ground-breaking and accessible, Andrew Parker's In the Blink of an Eye unravels the evidence demonstrating that this was the period when the eye evolved, leading to an evolutionary scramble for survival.
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What about Darwin? : all species of opinion from scientists, sages, friends, and enemies who met, read, and discussed the naturalist who changed the world
2010 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Magazine
Charles Darwin and his revolutionary ideas inspired pundits the world over to put pen to paper. In this unique dictionary of quotations, Darwin scholar Thomas Glick presents fascinating observations about Darwin and his ideas from such notable figures as P. T. Barnum, Anton Chekhov, Mahatma Gandhi, Carl Jung, Martin Luther King, Mao Tse-tung, Pius IX, Jules Verne, and Virginia Woolf.
What was it about Darwin that generated such widespread interest? His Origin of Species changed the world. Naturalists, clerics, politicians, novelists, poets, musicians, economists, and philosophers alike could not help but engage his theory of evolution. Whatever their view of his theory, however, those who met Darwin were unfailingly charmed by his modesty, kindness, honesty, and seriousness of purpose.
This diverse collection drawn from essays, letters, novels, short stories, plays, poetry, speeches, and parodies demonstrates how Darwin's ideas permeated all areas of thought. The quotations trace a broad conversation about Darwin across great distances of time and space, revealing his profound influence on the great thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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