Günter P. Wagner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691156460
- eISBN:
- 9781400851461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691156460.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter explores variational structuralism, whose core idea is that organisms and their parts play causal roles in shaping the patterns of phenotypic evolution. Drawing on the work of pioneers ...
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This chapter explores variational structuralism, whose core idea is that organisms and their parts play causal roles in shaping the patterns of phenotypic evolution. Drawing on the work of pioneers such as Ron Amundson, it discusses the conceptual incompatibilities between two styles of thinking in evolutionary biology: functionalism and structuralism. It proceeds by explaining the meaning of developmental types and structuralist concepts arising from macromolecular studies. It also examines facts and ideas about bodies, Rupert Riedl's theory of the “immitatory epigenotype,” and Neil Shubin and Pere Alberch's developmental interpretation of tetrapod limbs. Finally, it looks at the emergence of molecular structuralism and the enigma of developmental variation. The chapter argues that typology naturally emerged from the facts of evolutionary developmental biology and that it would be seriously problematic to try to avoid it.Less
This chapter explores variational structuralism, whose core idea is that organisms and their parts play causal roles in shaping the patterns of phenotypic evolution. Drawing on the work of pioneers such as Ron Amundson, it discusses the conceptual incompatibilities between two styles of thinking in evolutionary biology: functionalism and structuralism. It proceeds by explaining the meaning of developmental types and structuralist concepts arising from macromolecular studies. It also examines facts and ideas about bodies, Rupert Riedl's theory of the “immitatory epigenotype,” and Neil Shubin and Pere Alberch's developmental interpretation of tetrapod limbs. Finally, it looks at the emergence of molecular structuralism and the enigma of developmental variation. The chapter argues that typology naturally emerged from the facts of evolutionary developmental biology and that it would be seriously problematic to try to avoid it.
Arthur S. Reber
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195106589
- eISBN:
- 9780199871698
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195106589.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
The book is an extended essay on implicit learning, a topic that emerged in recent years as an important but previously overlooked process. Implicit learning is learning that takes place independent ...
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The book is an extended essay on implicit learning, a topic that emerged in recent years as an important but previously overlooked process. Implicit learning is learning that takes place independent of both the process and products of learning. It occurs without the intention to learn and largely without awareness of the nature of what has been learned. The process is “bottom-up”; information is acquired automatically when individuals focus attention on complex displays; and the knowledge base is “tacit” and largely opaque to introspection. Examples abound in everyday life, notably natural language learning and the acquisition of the mores of social behavior. A core assumption is that this implicit acquisitional mechanism is a fundamental “root” process that is based on evolutionarily old neurological structures and lies at the heart of the adaptive behavioral repertoire of every complex organism. Firstly, the book outlines the essential features of implicit learning that have emerged from controlled studies carried out over the past several decades. It also presents alternative perspectives that have been proposed and accommodates these views to the proposed theoretical model. It then structures the literature within the framework of Darwinian evolutionary biology that lies at the core of the theory. Finally, it shows how the evolutionary stance makes a series of predictions about how functions based on implicit mechanisms should differ from those mediated by consciousness.Less
The book is an extended essay on implicit learning, a topic that emerged in recent years as an important but previously overlooked process. Implicit learning is learning that takes place independent of both the process and products of learning. It occurs without the intention to learn and largely without awareness of the nature of what has been learned. The process is “bottom-up”; information is acquired automatically when individuals focus attention on complex displays; and the knowledge base is “tacit” and largely opaque to introspection. Examples abound in everyday life, notably natural language learning and the acquisition of the mores of social behavior. A core assumption is that this implicit acquisitional mechanism is a fundamental “root” process that is based on evolutionarily old neurological structures and lies at the heart of the adaptive behavioral repertoire of every complex organism. Firstly, the book outlines the essential features of implicit learning that have emerged from controlled studies carried out over the past several decades. It also presents alternative perspectives that have been proposed and accommodates these views to the proposed theoretical model. It then structures the literature within the framework of Darwinian evolutionary biology that lies at the core of the theory. Finally, it shows how the evolutionary stance makes a series of predictions about how functions based on implicit mechanisms should differ from those mediated by consciousness.
Curt Meine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199554232
- eISBN:
- 9780191720666
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554232.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
In this chapter, Curt Meine introduces the discipline by tracing its history. He also highlights the inter‐disciplinary nature of conservation science. Conservation biology emerged in the mid‐1980s ...
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In this chapter, Curt Meine introduces the discipline by tracing its history. He also highlights the inter‐disciplinary nature of conservation science. Conservation biology emerged in the mid‐1980s as a new field focused on understanding, protecting, and perpetuating biological diversity at all scales and all levels of biological organization. Conservation biology has deep roots in the growth of biology over several centuries, but its emergence reflects more recent developments in an array of biological sciences (ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology, etc.) and natural resource management fields (forestry, wildlife and fisheries management, etc.). Conservation biology was conceived as a “mission‐oriented” field based in the biological sciences, but with an explicit interdisciplinary approach that incorporated insights from the social sciences, humanities, and ethics. Since its founding, conservation biology has: (i) greatly elaborated its research agenda; (ii) built stronger connections with other fields and disciplines; (iii) extended its reach especially into aquatic and marine environments; (iv) developed its professional capacity for training, research, and field application; (v) become an increasingly international field; and (vi) become increasingly active at the interface of conservation science and policy.Less
In this chapter, Curt Meine introduces the discipline by tracing its history. He also highlights the inter‐disciplinary nature of conservation science. Conservation biology emerged in the mid‐1980s as a new field focused on understanding, protecting, and perpetuating biological diversity at all scales and all levels of biological organization. Conservation biology has deep roots in the growth of biology over several centuries, but its emergence reflects more recent developments in an array of biological sciences (ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology, etc.) and natural resource management fields (forestry, wildlife and fisheries management, etc.). Conservation biology was conceived as a “mission‐oriented” field based in the biological sciences, but with an explicit interdisciplinary approach that incorporated insights from the social sciences, humanities, and ethics. Since its founding, conservation biology has: (i) greatly elaborated its research agenda; (ii) built stronger connections with other fields and disciplines; (iii) extended its reach especially into aquatic and marine environments; (iv) developed its professional capacity for training, research, and field application; (v) become an increasingly international field; and (vi) become increasingly active at the interface of conservation science and policy.
Laurence D. Mueller, Casandra L. Rauser, and Michael R. Rose
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199754229
- eISBN:
- 9780199896714
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199754229.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This book addresses the most paradoxical finding of recent aging research: the cessation of demographic aging. The authors show that aging stops at the level of the individual organism, and explain ...
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This book addresses the most paradoxical finding of recent aging research: the cessation of demographic aging. The authors show that aging stops at the level of the individual organism, and explain why evolution allows this. The implications of this counter-intuitive conclusion are profound. Aging research now needs to accept three uncomfortable truths. First, aging is not a cumulative physiological process. Second, the fundamental theory that is required to explain, manipulate, and probe the phenomena of aging comes from evolutionary biology. Third, strong-inference experimental strategies for aging must be founded in evolutionary research, not cell or molecular biology. But there are also significant consequences of this work for human aging. First, biomedical strategies that are founded on the traditional cell-molecular theories of aging are bound to fail, because their fundamental premises are incorrect. Second, the ultimate technological problem of controlling human aging is redefined by the authors as having two parts:(a) ameliorating an aging phase that can now be seen as merely transitory; and (b) achieving an earlier and healthier post-aging phase. Third, the authors propose one possibility by which both of these goals might be achieved. The outcome of fifteen years of research by the authors, this book brings together new applications of evolutionary theory, new models for demography, and massive experimentation. As hard as it is to deal scientifically with the paradoxes and complexities of aging that stops, this key finding unlocks the box containing one of the most profound mysteries of biology.Less
This book addresses the most paradoxical finding of recent aging research: the cessation of demographic aging. The authors show that aging stops at the level of the individual organism, and explain why evolution allows this. The implications of this counter-intuitive conclusion are profound. Aging research now needs to accept three uncomfortable truths. First, aging is not a cumulative physiological process. Second, the fundamental theory that is required to explain, manipulate, and probe the phenomena of aging comes from evolutionary biology. Third, strong-inference experimental strategies for aging must be founded in evolutionary research, not cell or molecular biology. But there are also significant consequences of this work for human aging. First, biomedical strategies that are founded on the traditional cell-molecular theories of aging are bound to fail, because their fundamental premises are incorrect. Second, the ultimate technological problem of controlling human aging is redefined by the authors as having two parts:(a) ameliorating an aging phase that can now be seen as merely transitory; and (b) achieving an earlier and healthier post-aging phase. Third, the authors propose one possibility by which both of these goals might be achieved. The outcome of fifteen years of research by the authors, this book brings together new applications of evolutionary theory, new models for demography, and massive experimentation. As hard as it is to deal scientifically with the paradoxes and complexities of aging that stops, this key finding unlocks the box containing one of the most profound mysteries of biology.
Arthur S. Reber
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195106589
- eISBN:
- 9780199871698
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195106589.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter introduces the foundations of the evolutionary model and develops the formal theory. The model is based on the assumption of the primacy of the implicit and axioms derived from Wimsatt's ...
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This chapter introduces the foundations of the evolutionary model and develops the formal theory. The model is based on the assumption of the primacy of the implicit and axioms derived from Wimsatt's model of “generative retrenchment” to make several rather surprising predictions about differences in implicit and explicit systems. Specifically, implicit functions should be more robust than explicit; emerge earlier in development; retain their effectiveness well into old age while consciously modulated functions wane; show relatively little in the way of individual-to-individual variation; be uncorrelated with intelligence; and show a pattern of cross-species commonality in basic operations. The existing literature on these topics is discussed.Less
This chapter introduces the foundations of the evolutionary model and develops the formal theory. The model is based on the assumption of the primacy of the implicit and axioms derived from Wimsatt's model of “generative retrenchment” to make several rather surprising predictions about differences in implicit and explicit systems. Specifically, implicit functions should be more robust than explicit; emerge earlier in development; retain their effectiveness well into old age while consciously modulated functions wane; show relatively little in the way of individual-to-individual variation; be uncorrelated with intelligence; and show a pattern of cross-species commonality in basic operations. The existing literature on these topics is discussed.
Günter P. Wagner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691156460
- eISBN:
- 9781400851461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691156460.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter examines the implications of homology as a scientifically credible concept for the metaphysics of evolutionary biology, that is, the question of whether such words as “characters” can ...
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This chapter examines the implications of homology as a scientifically credible concept for the metaphysics of evolutionary biology, that is, the question of whether such words as “characters” can refer to real things. It first considers the relationship between philosophy and science before discussing how the notions of class, individuals, and natural kinds relate to the conceptual proposal in this book. To introduce the idea of a class, the chapter looks at the history of the concepts of acids and bases. It then describes the notion of natural kinds and emphasizes the usefulness of definitions and models in the study of character evolution and development. It concludes by arguing that characters can be understood as natural kinds, if the latter notion is appropriately modified.Less
This chapter examines the implications of homology as a scientifically credible concept for the metaphysics of evolutionary biology, that is, the question of whether such words as “characters” can refer to real things. It first considers the relationship between philosophy and science before discussing how the notions of class, individuals, and natural kinds relate to the conceptual proposal in this book. To introduce the idea of a class, the chapter looks at the history of the concepts of acids and bases. It then describes the notion of natural kinds and emphasizes the usefulness of definitions and models in the study of character evolution and development. It concludes by arguing that characters can be understood as natural kinds, if the latter notion is appropriately modified.
Wendy K. Wilkins
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199545872
- eISBN:
- 9780191720369
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545872.003.0015
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
This chapter sets out a strategy for investigating the evolutionary biology of language. Central here is the following thesis: In order to understand the emergence of linguistic capacity as an ...
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This chapter sets out a strategy for investigating the evolutionary biology of language. Central here is the following thesis: In order to understand the emergence of linguistic capacity as an innovation in the hominid line, it is necessary to work backwards from language-relevant anatomy. The assumption is that each piece of the anatomical mosaic will have a different evolutionary story, and that each story will be more or less evident in ancestral species, depending on the availability of biological evidence in the fossil record. The use of this strategy is illustrated by discussing the evolution of Broca's area and the parietal-occipital-temporal junction (POT) plus Wernicke's area — areas of the brain that are ‘necessary, if not sufficient, for language’. It is argued that the complex comprising Broca's area and the POT was evolutionarily shaped to improve the neurological control of the hand and thumb, and became available for exaptation after the divergence of the hominid and pongid lineages. This position gains further support from recent work on primate neuroanatomy.Less
This chapter sets out a strategy for investigating the evolutionary biology of language. Central here is the following thesis: In order to understand the emergence of linguistic capacity as an innovation in the hominid line, it is necessary to work backwards from language-relevant anatomy. The assumption is that each piece of the anatomical mosaic will have a different evolutionary story, and that each story will be more or less evident in ancestral species, depending on the availability of biological evidence in the fossil record. The use of this strategy is illustrated by discussing the evolution of Broca's area and the parietal-occipital-temporal junction (POT) plus Wernicke's area — areas of the brain that are ‘necessary, if not sufficient, for language’. It is argued that the complex comprising Broca's area and the POT was evolutionarily shaped to improve the neurological control of the hand and thumb, and became available for exaptation after the divergence of the hominid and pongid lineages. This position gains further support from recent work on primate neuroanatomy.
Günter P. Wagner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691156460
- eISBN:
- 9781400851461
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691156460.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Homology—a similar trait shared by different species and derived from common ancestry, such as a seal's fin and a bird's wing—is one of the most fundamental yet challenging concepts in evolutionary ...
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Homology—a similar trait shared by different species and derived from common ancestry, such as a seal's fin and a bird's wing—is one of the most fundamental yet challenging concepts in evolutionary biology. This book provides the first mechanistically based theory of what homology is and how it arises in evolution. The book argues that homology, or character identity, can be explained through the historical continuity of character identity networks—that is, the gene regulatory networks that enable differential gene expression. It shows how character identity is independent of the form and function of the character itself because the same network can activate different effector genes and thus control the development of different shapes, sizes, and qualities of the character. Demonstrating how this theoretical model can provide a foundation for understanding the evolutionary origin of novel characters, the book applies it to the origin and evolution of specific systems, such as cell types; skin, hair, and feathers; limbs and digits; and flowers. The first major synthesis of homology to be published in decades, this book reveals how a mechanistically based theory can serve as a unifying concept for any branch of science concerned with the structure and development of organisms, and how it can help explain major transitions in evolution and broad patterns of biological diversity.Less
Homology—a similar trait shared by different species and derived from common ancestry, such as a seal's fin and a bird's wing—is one of the most fundamental yet challenging concepts in evolutionary biology. This book provides the first mechanistically based theory of what homology is and how it arises in evolution. The book argues that homology, or character identity, can be explained through the historical continuity of character identity networks—that is, the gene regulatory networks that enable differential gene expression. It shows how character identity is independent of the form and function of the character itself because the same network can activate different effector genes and thus control the development of different shapes, sizes, and qualities of the character. Demonstrating how this theoretical model can provide a foundation for understanding the evolutionary origin of novel characters, the book applies it to the origin and evolution of specific systems, such as cell types; skin, hair, and feathers; limbs and digits; and flowers. The first major synthesis of homology to be published in decades, this book reveals how a mechanistically based theory can serve as a unifying concept for any branch of science concerned with the structure and development of organisms, and how it can help explain major transitions in evolution and broad patterns of biological diversity.
Robert C. Fuller
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195369175
- eISBN:
- 9780199871186
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369175.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores the leverage that the body exerts on humanity's propensity toward religion. Recent research in the emotions, neurobiology, sexuality, pain, and the chemical components of ...
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This chapter explores the leverage that the body exerts on humanity's propensity toward religion. Recent research in the emotions, neurobiology, sexuality, pain, and the chemical components of thought or feeling all shed light on the varieties of human spirituality. Studying religion “in the flesh” furnishes a new set of critical terms that bring a fully interdisciplinary perspective to bear on understanding the most elusive forms of embodied experience.Less
This chapter explores the leverage that the body exerts on humanity's propensity toward religion. Recent research in the emotions, neurobiology, sexuality, pain, and the chemical components of thought or feeling all shed light on the varieties of human spirituality. Studying religion “in the flesh” furnishes a new set of critical terms that bring a fully interdisciplinary perspective to bear on understanding the most elusive forms of embodied experience.
Patrizia d'Ettorre and David P. Hughes (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199216840
- eISBN:
- 9780191712043
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216840.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Communication is the cornerstone of socially interacting groups. This is self-evident for human societies but not for bacterial biofilms, and super-colonies that span whole continents and ...
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Communication is the cornerstone of socially interacting groups. This is self-evident for human societies but not for bacterial biofilms, and super-colonies that span whole continents and transoceanic communication among whales. Since the early beginnings of communication studies, it has always been a stated goal to identify common features of diverse forms of communication (recently also including the internet), but syntheses have been few and historical barriers between sub-disciplines of molecular, evolutionary, chemical, and behavioural biology have been prohibitive stumbling blocks. This book brings together a highly-respected group of authors from a diverse range of fields in biology and beyond, in an attempt to synthesize current understanding of the evolutionary principles of communication, and to identify and explore key directions that will likely be pursued in the coming years. Contributions range from molecular microbiologists untangling the genetic basis of bacterial communication, to behavioural ecologists determining the scope of communication networks among colonial vertebrates. In addition, there are important contributions from theoretical biology (genomic conflict and self organisation), the humanities (linguistics and philosophy), and evolutionary psychology (human mate choice and the evolution of human societies). The book asks — and tentatively answers with some degree of confidence — what the general principles of social communication are.Less
Communication is the cornerstone of socially interacting groups. This is self-evident for human societies but not for bacterial biofilms, and super-colonies that span whole continents and transoceanic communication among whales. Since the early beginnings of communication studies, it has always been a stated goal to identify common features of diverse forms of communication (recently also including the internet), but syntheses have been few and historical barriers between sub-disciplines of molecular, evolutionary, chemical, and behavioural biology have been prohibitive stumbling blocks. This book brings together a highly-respected group of authors from a diverse range of fields in biology and beyond, in an attempt to synthesize current understanding of the evolutionary principles of communication, and to identify and explore key directions that will likely be pursued in the coming years. Contributions range from molecular microbiologists untangling the genetic basis of bacterial communication, to behavioural ecologists determining the scope of communication networks among colonial vertebrates. In addition, there are important contributions from theoretical biology (genomic conflict and self organisation), the humanities (linguistics and philosophy), and evolutionary psychology (human mate choice and the evolution of human societies). The book asks — and tentatively answers with some degree of confidence — what the general principles of social communication are.
Michael Doebeli
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691128931
- eISBN:
- 9781400838936
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691128931.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Understanding the mechanisms driving biological diversity remains a central problem in ecology and evolutionary biology. Traditional explanations assume that differences in selection pressures lead ...
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Understanding the mechanisms driving biological diversity remains a central problem in ecology and evolutionary biology. Traditional explanations assume that differences in selection pressures lead to different adaptations in geographically separated locations. This book takes a different approach and explores adaptive diversification—diversification rooted in ecological interactions and frequency-dependent selection. In any ecosystem, birth and death rates of individuals are affected by interactions with other individuals. What is an advantageous phenotype therefore depends on the phenotype of other individuals, and it may often be best to be ecologically different from the majority phenotype. Such rare-type advantage is a hallmark of frequency-dependent selection and opens the scope for processes of diversification that require ecological contact rather than geographical isolation. This book investigates adaptive diversification using the mathematical framework of adaptive dynamics. Evolutionary branching is a paradigmatic feature of adaptive dynamics that serves as a basic metaphor for adaptive diversification, and the book explores the scope of evolutionary branching in many different ecological scenarios, including models of coevolution, cooperation, and cultural evolution. It also uses alternative modeling approaches. Stochastic, individual-based models are particularly useful for studying adaptive speciation in sexual populations, and partial differential equation models confirm the pervasiveness of adaptive diversification. Showing that frequency-dependent interactions are an important driver of biological diversity, the book provides a comprehensive theoretical treatment of adaptive diversification.Less
Understanding the mechanisms driving biological diversity remains a central problem in ecology and evolutionary biology. Traditional explanations assume that differences in selection pressures lead to different adaptations in geographically separated locations. This book takes a different approach and explores adaptive diversification—diversification rooted in ecological interactions and frequency-dependent selection. In any ecosystem, birth and death rates of individuals are affected by interactions with other individuals. What is an advantageous phenotype therefore depends on the phenotype of other individuals, and it may often be best to be ecologically different from the majority phenotype. Such rare-type advantage is a hallmark of frequency-dependent selection and opens the scope for processes of diversification that require ecological contact rather than geographical isolation. This book investigates adaptive diversification using the mathematical framework of adaptive dynamics. Evolutionary branching is a paradigmatic feature of adaptive dynamics that serves as a basic metaphor for adaptive diversification, and the book explores the scope of evolutionary branching in many different ecological scenarios, including models of coevolution, cooperation, and cultural evolution. It also uses alternative modeling approaches. Stochastic, individual-based models are particularly useful for studying adaptive speciation in sexual populations, and partial differential equation models confirm the pervasiveness of adaptive diversification. Showing that frequency-dependent interactions are an important driver of biological diversity, the book provides a comprehensive theoretical treatment of adaptive diversification.
R. Ford Denison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139500
- eISBN:
- 9781400842810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139500.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This book proposes new approaches to improving agriculture based on the principles of evolutionary biology and natural selection. It argues that two popular approaches to improving agriculture, ...
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This book proposes new approaches to improving agriculture based on the principles of evolutionary biology and natural selection. It argues that two popular approaches to improving agriculture, biotechnology and traditional plant breeding, have tended to ignore evolutionary tradeoffs—that is, cases where an evolutionary change that is positive in one context is negative in another—and that both of them would benefit from greater attention to evolution. Whether we focus on genetic improvement of crops or better management of agricultural ecosystems, the book emphasizes the need to identify (and sometimes accept) tradeoffs that constrained past evolution in order to find new solutions to agricultural problems. It also considers some of the challenges facing agriculture, such as resource-use efficiency and food security. This chapter provides an overview of the book.Less
This book proposes new approaches to improving agriculture based on the principles of evolutionary biology and natural selection. It argues that two popular approaches to improving agriculture, biotechnology and traditional plant breeding, have tended to ignore evolutionary tradeoffs—that is, cases where an evolutionary change that is positive in one context is negative in another—and that both of them would benefit from greater attention to evolution. Whether we focus on genetic improvement of crops or better management of agricultural ecosystems, the book emphasizes the need to identify (and sometimes accept) tradeoffs that constrained past evolution in order to find new solutions to agricultural problems. It also considers some of the challenges facing agriculture, such as resource-use efficiency and food security. This chapter provides an overview of the book.
Roberta L. Millstein
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199574131
- eISBN:
- 9780191728921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574131.003.0020
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Logic / Computer Science / Mathematical Philosophy
As a number of biologists and philosophers have emphasized, ‘chance’ has multiple meanings in evolutionary biology. Seven have been identified. The chapter argues that there is a unified concept of ...
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As a number of biologists and philosophers have emphasized, ‘chance’ has multiple meanings in evolutionary biology. Seven have been identified. The chapter argues that there is a unified concept of chance underlying these seven, which the chapter calls the UCC (Unified Chance Concept). The chapter argues that each is characterized by which causes are considered, ignored, or prohibited. Thus, chance in evolutionary biology can only be understood through understanding the causes at work. The UCC aids in comparing the different concepts and allows us to characterize our concepts of chance in probabilistic terms, i.e. provides a way to translate between ‘chance’ and ‘probability’.Less
As a number of biologists and philosophers have emphasized, ‘chance’ has multiple meanings in evolutionary biology. Seven have been identified. The chapter argues that there is a unified concept of chance underlying these seven, which the chapter calls the UCC (Unified Chance Concept). The chapter argues that each is characterized by which causes are considered, ignored, or prohibited. Thus, chance in evolutionary biology can only be understood through understanding the causes at work. The UCC aids in comparing the different concepts and allows us to characterize our concepts of chance in probabilistic terms, i.e. provides a way to translate between ‘chance’ and ‘probability’.
John O. Reiss
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520258938
- eISBN:
- 9780520944404
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520258938.003.0012
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter considers some of the ways in which the conditions for existence can serve as a unifying concept in evolutionary biology. It examines some of the areas in which recognition of the ...
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This chapter considers some of the ways in which the conditions for existence can serve as a unifying concept in evolutionary biology. It examines some of the areas in which recognition of the principle of the conditions for existence can highlight interconnections that are not often made, both within evolutionary biology and between evolutionary biology and other fields. These fields include quantitative genetics, the levels of selection, evo-devo, the ecological niche, physiology, and conservation biology.Less
This chapter considers some of the ways in which the conditions for existence can serve as a unifying concept in evolutionary biology. It examines some of the areas in which recognition of the principle of the conditions for existence can highlight interconnections that are not often made, both within evolutionary biology and between evolutionary biology and other fields. These fields include quantitative genetics, the levels of selection, evo-devo, the ecological niche, physiology, and conservation biology.
R. Ford Denison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139500
- eISBN:
- 9781400842810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139500.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter discusses approaches that have worked in the past in improving cooperation within species. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, with evolutionary biology at the center, it argues that we ...
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This chapter discusses approaches that have worked in the past in improving cooperation within species. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, with evolutionary biology at the center, it argues that we need to pay particular attention to tradeoffs. The chapter first considers the Green Revolution, which it claims was based on reversing past natural selection, before looking at past evolutionary arms races and how they have resulted in plants, and even chickens, that compete vigorously with their neighbors for resources, even when that competition reduces their collective productivity. The chapter examines the ideas of Colin Donald and the case of the Australian wheat variety called Drysdale, and solar tracking by leaves. It also explores the tradeoff between the yield potential of a crop genotype and its ability to suppress weeds based on cooperation, group selection as a strategy for crop genetic improvement, and the role of biotechnology in understanding how plants detect crowding.Less
This chapter discusses approaches that have worked in the past in improving cooperation within species. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, with evolutionary biology at the center, it argues that we need to pay particular attention to tradeoffs. The chapter first considers the Green Revolution, which it claims was based on reversing past natural selection, before looking at past evolutionary arms races and how they have resulted in plants, and even chickens, that compete vigorously with their neighbors for resources, even when that competition reduces their collective productivity. The chapter examines the ideas of Colin Donald and the case of the Australian wheat variety called Drysdale, and solar tracking by leaves. It also explores the tradeoff between the yield potential of a crop genotype and its ability to suppress weeds based on cooperation, group selection as a strategy for crop genetic improvement, and the role of biotechnology in understanding how plants detect crowding.
Erik I Svensson and Ryan Caisbeek
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199595372
- eISBN:
- 9780191774799
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199595372.003.0019
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Sewall Wright’s classic Adaptive Landscape has been a highly successful metaphor and scientific concept in evolutionary biology. It has influenced many different research subdisciplines in ...
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Sewall Wright’s classic Adaptive Landscape has been a highly successful metaphor and scientific concept in evolutionary biology. It has influenced many different research subdisciplines in evolutionary biology and inspired generations of researchers, even though it has also sparked deep scientific and philosophical controversies. Among such subdisciplines are population genetics, evolutionary ecology, quantitative genetics, experimental evolution, conservation biology, speciation and macroevolutionary dynamics, mimicry, saltational evolution, behavioural ecology, molecular biology, protein networks, and theoretical studies on development.Less
Sewall Wright’s classic Adaptive Landscape has been a highly successful metaphor and scientific concept in evolutionary biology. It has influenced many different research subdisciplines in evolutionary biology and inspired generations of researchers, even though it has also sparked deep scientific and philosophical controversies. Among such subdisciplines are population genetics, evolutionary ecology, quantitative genetics, experimental evolution, conservation biology, speciation and macroevolutionary dynamics, mimicry, saltational evolution, behavioural ecology, molecular biology, protein networks, and theoretical studies on development.
Lee Cronk and Beth L. Leech
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691154954
- eISBN:
- 9781400845484
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691154954.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
From the family to the workplace to the marketplace, every facet of our lives is shaped by cooperative interactions. Yet everywhere we look, we are confronted by proof of how difficult cooperation ...
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From the family to the workplace to the marketplace, every facet of our lives is shaped by cooperative interactions. Yet everywhere we look, we are confronted by proof of how difficult cooperation can be—snarled traffic, polarized politics, overexploited resources, social problems that go ignored. The benefits to oneself of a free ride on the efforts of others mean that collective goals often are not met. But compared to most other species, people actually cooperate a great deal. Why is this? This book brings together insights from evolutionary biology, political science, economics, anthropology, and other fields to explain how the interactions between our evolved selves and the institutional structures we have created make cooperation possible. The book begins with a look at the ideas of Mancur Olson and George C. Williams, who shifted the question of why cooperation happens from an emphasis on group benefits to individual costs. It then explores how these ideas have influenced our thinking about cooperation, coordination, and collective action. It persuasively argues that cooperation and its failures are best explained by evolutionary and social theories working together. Selection sometimes favors cooperative tendencies, while institutions, norms, and incentives encourage and make possible actual cooperation. This book should inspire researchers from different disciplines and intellectual traditions to share ideas and advance our understanding of cooperative behavior in a world that is more complex than ever before.Less
From the family to the workplace to the marketplace, every facet of our lives is shaped by cooperative interactions. Yet everywhere we look, we are confronted by proof of how difficult cooperation can be—snarled traffic, polarized politics, overexploited resources, social problems that go ignored. The benefits to oneself of a free ride on the efforts of others mean that collective goals often are not met. But compared to most other species, people actually cooperate a great deal. Why is this? This book brings together insights from evolutionary biology, political science, economics, anthropology, and other fields to explain how the interactions between our evolved selves and the institutional structures we have created make cooperation possible. The book begins with a look at the ideas of Mancur Olson and George C. Williams, who shifted the question of why cooperation happens from an emphasis on group benefits to individual costs. It then explores how these ideas have influenced our thinking about cooperation, coordination, and collective action. It persuasively argues that cooperation and its failures are best explained by evolutionary and social theories working together. Selection sometimes favors cooperative tendencies, while institutions, norms, and incentives encourage and make possible actual cooperation. This book should inspire researchers from different disciplines and intellectual traditions to share ideas and advance our understanding of cooperative behavior in a world that is more complex than ever before.
R. Ford Denison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139500
- eISBN:
- 9781400842810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139500.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter considers some definitions and fundamental concepts of evolutionary biology, with a particular focus on the power of natural selection to improve the adaptation of individual plants and ...
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This chapter considers some definitions and fundamental concepts of evolutionary biology, with a particular focus on the power of natural selection to improve the adaptation of individual plants and animals to their environment. It begins with a discussion of evolution by natural selection as a well-tested scientific theory, along with three conditions that must be met in the evolution of species by natural selection: first, there must be differences among individual members of the species; second, individuals must have some tendency to inherit the characteristics of their parents; and third, inherited differences must affect reproductive success. The chapter proceeds by assessing the implications of these changes within species for agriculture. It also gives an example of how populations evolve by natural selection and concludes with an analysis of the evolution of transfer RNA genes via less-fit intermediates.Less
This chapter considers some definitions and fundamental concepts of evolutionary biology, with a particular focus on the power of natural selection to improve the adaptation of individual plants and animals to their environment. It begins with a discussion of evolution by natural selection as a well-tested scientific theory, along with three conditions that must be met in the evolution of species by natural selection: first, there must be differences among individual members of the species; second, individuals must have some tendency to inherit the characteristics of their parents; and third, inherited differences must affect reproductive success. The chapter proceeds by assessing the implications of these changes within species for agriculture. It also gives an example of how populations evolve by natural selection and concludes with an analysis of the evolution of transfer RNA genes via less-fit intermediates.
Joseph Rouse
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226293677
- eISBN:
- 9780226293707
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226293707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The most difficult challenge for naturalists in philosophy is accounting for scientific understanding of nature as itself a scientifically intelligible natural phenomenon. This book advances ...
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The most difficult challenge for naturalists in philosophy is accounting for scientific understanding of nature as itself a scientifically intelligible natural phenomenon. This book advances naturalism with a novel response to this challenge, drawing upon the philosophy of scientific practice and interdisciplinary science studies, philosophical work on the normativity of conceptual understanding, and new developments in evolutionary biology. The book’s two parts develop complementary, mutually supporting revisions to familiar accounts of conceptual understanding and of Sellars’s “scientific image” of ourselves-in-the-world. The first part shows how language and scientific practices exemplify the evolutionary process of niche construction. Conceptual capacities arise from the normativity of discursive practice within an evolving developmental niche, in place of familiar naturalistic appeals to a functional teleology of cognitive or linguistic representations. The second part treats scientific understanding (“the scientific image”) as situated within the ongoing practice of scientific research rather than as an established body of scientific knowledge. Scientific work does not culminate in a single, comprehensive image within the Sellarsian “space of reasons”; the sciences instead expand and reconfigure the entire space of reasons, in ways that are prospectively directed toward further revision in research. The first part thereby situates our conceptual capacities within a scientific conception of nature, while the second part explicates a scientific conception of nature in terms of that account of conceptual understanding.Less
The most difficult challenge for naturalists in philosophy is accounting for scientific understanding of nature as itself a scientifically intelligible natural phenomenon. This book advances naturalism with a novel response to this challenge, drawing upon the philosophy of scientific practice and interdisciplinary science studies, philosophical work on the normativity of conceptual understanding, and new developments in evolutionary biology. The book’s two parts develop complementary, mutually supporting revisions to familiar accounts of conceptual understanding and of Sellars’s “scientific image” of ourselves-in-the-world. The first part shows how language and scientific practices exemplify the evolutionary process of niche construction. Conceptual capacities arise from the normativity of discursive practice within an evolving developmental niche, in place of familiar naturalistic appeals to a functional teleology of cognitive or linguistic representations. The second part treats scientific understanding (“the scientific image”) as situated within the ongoing practice of scientific research rather than as an established body of scientific knowledge. Scientific work does not culminate in a single, comprehensive image within the Sellarsian “space of reasons”; the sciences instead expand and reconfigure the entire space of reasons, in ways that are prospectively directed toward further revision in research. The first part thereby situates our conceptual capacities within a scientific conception of nature, while the second part explicates a scientific conception of nature in terms of that account of conceptual understanding.
Stephen C. Stearns, Randolph M. Nesse, and David Haig
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199207466
- eISBN:
- 9780191728167
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207466.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter introduces the book, motivates it with examples of cases in which evolutionary approaches provide useful insights, and provides a brief sketch of evolutionary biology that describes key ...
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This chapter introduces the book, motivates it with examples of cases in which evolutionary approaches provide useful insights, and provides a brief sketch of evolutionary biology that describes key concepts and misconceptions. It argues that doctors need to know this about evolution: how natural selection works; why trade-offs are ubiquitous; how to distinguish and apply proximate and ultimate explanations; how to distinguish natural selection, drift, and inherited constraints as explanations; why group selection is weak and rarely an explanation; why aging is a by-product of selection for reproductive success earlier in life; why each human differs genetically in reacting to drugs and diseases; how pathogens rapidly evolve antibiotic resistance, and how that can be managed; how pathogen virulence evolves in response to human interventions; how evolutionary conflicts help to explain reproductive problems; and how selection operates in everyday life.Less
This chapter introduces the book, motivates it with examples of cases in which evolutionary approaches provide useful insights, and provides a brief sketch of evolutionary biology that describes key concepts and misconceptions. It argues that doctors need to know this about evolution: how natural selection works; why trade-offs are ubiquitous; how to distinguish and apply proximate and ultimate explanations; how to distinguish natural selection, drift, and inherited constraints as explanations; why group selection is weak and rarely an explanation; why aging is a by-product of selection for reproductive success earlier in life; why each human differs genetically in reacting to drugs and diseases; how pathogens rapidly evolve antibiotic resistance, and how that can be managed; how pathogen virulence evolves in response to human interventions; how evolutionary conflicts help to explain reproductive problems; and how selection operates in everyday life.
