Samir Okasha
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199267972
- eISBN:
- 9780191708275
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199267972.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the long-standing controversy in evolutionary ...
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Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the long-standing controversy in evolutionary biology over the levels of selection, focusing on conceptual, philosophical, and foundational questions. In the first half of the book, a systematic framework is developed for thinking about natural selection acting at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy; the framework is then used to help resolve outstanding issues. Considerable attention is paid to the concept of causality as it relates to the levels of selection, particularly the idea that natural selection at one hierarchical level can have effects that ‘filter’ up or down to other levels. Full account is taken of the recent biological literature on ‘major evolutionary transitions’ and the recent resurgence of interest in multi-level selection theory among biologists. Other biological topics discussed include Price's equation, kin and group selection, the gene's eye view, evolutionary game theory, selfish genetic elements, species and clade selection, and the evolution of individuality. Philosophical topics discussed include reductionism and holism, causation and correlation, the nature of hierarchical organization, and realism and pluralism about the levels of selection.Less
Does natural selection act primarily on individual organisms, on groups, on genes, or on whole species? This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the long-standing controversy in evolutionary biology over the levels of selection, focusing on conceptual, philosophical, and foundational questions. In the first half of the book, a systematic framework is developed for thinking about natural selection acting at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy; the framework is then used to help resolve outstanding issues. Considerable attention is paid to the concept of causality as it relates to the levels of selection, particularly the idea that natural selection at one hierarchical level can have effects that ‘filter’ up or down to other levels. Full account is taken of the recent biological literature on ‘major evolutionary transitions’ and the recent resurgence of interest in multi-level selection theory among biologists. Other biological topics discussed include Price's equation, kin and group selection, the gene's eye view, evolutionary game theory, selfish genetic elements, species and clade selection, and the evolution of individuality. Philosophical topics discussed include reductionism and holism, causation and correlation, the nature of hierarchical organization, and realism and pluralism about the levels of selection.
Samir Okasha
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199267972
- eISBN:
- 9780191708275
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199267972.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter looks at the ‘major evolutionary transitions’, in particular the idea that multi-level selection theory is crucial for understanding them. These transitions occur when a number of ...
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This chapter looks at the ‘major evolutionary transitions’, in particular the idea that multi-level selection theory is crucial for understanding them. These transitions occur when a number of free-living biological individuals, originally capable of surviving and reproducing alone, become integrated into a co-operative whole. The literature on evolutionary transitions is concerned with the origins of hierarchical organization rather than selection and adaptation at pre-existing hierarchical levels. This calls for a ‘diachronic’ rather than a ‘synchronic’ formulation of the levels of selection question. The implications of this change in perspective are examined. The distinction between MLS1 and MLS2 is examined in relation to the major evolutionary transitions.Less
This chapter looks at the ‘major evolutionary transitions’, in particular the idea that multi-level selection theory is crucial for understanding them. These transitions occur when a number of free-living biological individuals, originally capable of surviving and reproducing alone, become integrated into a co-operative whole. The literature on evolutionary transitions is concerned with the origins of hierarchical organization rather than selection and adaptation at pre-existing hierarchical levels. This calls for a ‘diachronic’ rather than a ‘synchronic’ formulation of the levels of selection question. The implications of this change in perspective are examined. The distinction between MLS1 and MLS2 is examined in relation to the major evolutionary transitions.
Samir Okasha
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015240
- eISBN:
- 9780262295703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015240.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter presents a displacement of the organism as a privileged level of analysis in evolutionary biology. It is concerned with the ontology of biology systems, with particular reference to ...
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This chapter presents a displacement of the organism as a privileged level of analysis in evolutionary biology. It is concerned with the ontology of biology systems, with particular reference to hierarchical organization. It argues that the concept of a rank-free hierarchy can be transposed to the major transitions hierarchy, with interesting consequences. This chapter shows that the idea of rank freedom makes good sense of a number of facets of the recent discussion of evolutionary transitions and multilevel selection. It suggests that the idea of rank freedom is already at work, implicitly, in much theorizing about evolutionary transitions and/or multilevel selection.Less
This chapter presents a displacement of the organism as a privileged level of analysis in evolutionary biology. It is concerned with the ontology of biology systems, with particular reference to hierarchical organization. It argues that the concept of a rank-free hierarchy can be transposed to the major transitions hierarchy, with interesting consequences. This chapter shows that the idea of rank freedom makes good sense of a number of facets of the recent discussion of evolutionary transitions and multilevel selection. It suggests that the idea of rank freedom is already at work, implicitly, in much theorizing about evolutionary transitions and/or multilevel selection.
Paul B. Rainey and Benjamin Kerr
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015240
- eISBN:
- 9780262295703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015240.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter describes the evolutionary transition from single cells to multicellular individuals. It shows that in multicellular organisms, individuality is ultimately a property of individual cells ...
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This chapter describes the evolutionary transition from single cells to multicellular individuals. It shows that in multicellular organisms, individuality is ultimately a property of individual cells that give rise to a multicellular organism in each generation. It then investigates the breakdown of cooperation, in the course of developing a heterodox idea on the origins of the germ-soma distinction. It examines the evolution of multicellular development in the Pseudomonas system by introducing a discrete-time theoretical model. The described unconventional life cycles that span the multilevel selection (MLS)-1 to MLS-2 juncture are founded in experimental reality.Less
This chapter describes the evolutionary transition from single cells to multicellular individuals. It shows that in multicellular organisms, individuality is ultimately a property of individual cells that give rise to a multicellular organism in each generation. It then investigates the breakdown of cooperation, in the course of developing a heterodox idea on the origins of the germ-soma distinction. It examines the evolution of multicellular development in the Pseudomonas system by introducing a discrete-time theoretical model. The described unconventional life cycles that span the multilevel selection (MLS)-1 to MLS-2 juncture are founded in experimental reality.
Aurora M. Nedelcu and Richard E. Michod
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199568765
- eISBN:
- 9780191774591
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199568765.003.0021
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Although life history trade-offs are recognized as central to life history evolution, the mechanisms underlying trade-offs are not well understood. Life history trade-offs gain unique significance ...
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Although life history trade-offs are recognized as central to life history evolution, the mechanisms underlying trade-offs are not well understood. Life history trade-offs gain unique significance during evolutionary transitions in individuality (such as the transitions from unicellular to multicellular individuals and solitary individuals to eusocial societies). This chapter develops further this proposal using the volvocalean green algal group as a model system. First, it introduces the volvocalean algae and discusses the aspects of their life history that are relevant to the evolution of multicellularity in this lineage. Then, it briefly reviews what is known about the mechanistic basis of acclimation – a specific adaptive response to environmental changes that magnifies the survival–reproduction trade-off in these algae. Last, the chapter considers the genetic basis for the differentiation of germ and somatic cells in the most complex member of this lineage, Volvox carteri. It proposes a hypothesis for the evolution of somatic cells in which, by simulating the general acclimation signal (i.e., a change in the redox status of the cell) in a spatial rather than temporal context, a life history trade-off gene associated with ensuring long-term survival at a cost to immediate reproduction can be co-opted into a ‘specialization’ gene – that is, a gene whose differential expression between cells gives rise to specialized cell types. In this way, individual cells in a group are released from the survival–reproduction trade-off that constrains their unicellular relatives, and the two fitness components can be maximized independently and simultaneously.Less
Although life history trade-offs are recognized as central to life history evolution, the mechanisms underlying trade-offs are not well understood. Life history trade-offs gain unique significance during evolutionary transitions in individuality (such as the transitions from unicellular to multicellular individuals and solitary individuals to eusocial societies). This chapter develops further this proposal using the volvocalean green algal group as a model system. First, it introduces the volvocalean algae and discusses the aspects of their life history that are relevant to the evolution of multicellularity in this lineage. Then, it briefly reviews what is known about the mechanistic basis of acclimation – a specific adaptive response to environmental changes that magnifies the survival–reproduction trade-off in these algae. Last, the chapter considers the genetic basis for the differentiation of germ and somatic cells in the most complex member of this lineage, Volvox carteri. It proposes a hypothesis for the evolution of somatic cells in which, by simulating the general acclimation signal (i.e., a change in the redox status of the cell) in a spatial rather than temporal context, a life history trade-off gene associated with ensuring long-term survival at a cost to immediate reproduction can be co-opted into a ‘specialization’ gene – that is, a gene whose differential expression between cells gives rise to specialized cell types. In this way, individual cells in a group are released from the survival–reproduction trade-off that constrains their unicellular relatives, and the two fitness components can be maximized independently and simultaneously.
Silvia Caianiello
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226426051
- eISBN:
- 9780226426198
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226426198.003.0012
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The hierarchy theory at its onset was primarily committed to vindicate the distinctness of macro-evolutionary phenomena from micro-evolutionary processes, minimizing the explanatory relevance of ...
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The hierarchy theory at its onset was primarily committed to vindicate the distinctness of macro-evolutionary phenomena from micro-evolutionary processes, minimizing the explanatory relevance of levels and entities below the organism and above the gene. The current focus on phenotypic evolution, however, suggests a refinement and revision of the role of the so-called “somatic” or “phenotypic hierarchy”, and the evolutionary bearing of its structured variability at different levels. The paper reviews some theoretical reasons and implications of such reassessment.Less
The hierarchy theory at its onset was primarily committed to vindicate the distinctness of macro-evolutionary phenomena from micro-evolutionary processes, minimizing the explanatory relevance of levels and entities below the organism and above the gene. The current focus on phenotypic evolution, however, suggests a refinement and revision of the role of the so-called “somatic” or “phenotypic hierarchy”, and the evolutionary bearing of its structured variability at different levels. The paper reviews some theoretical reasons and implications of such reassessment.
David Sloan Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262513678
- eISBN:
- 9780262315142
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262513678.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter reviews the debate on group selection, a concept that has experienced vertiginous ups and downs since the 1960s, and brings it up to modern standards within the broader context of ...
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This chapter reviews the debate on group selection, a concept that has experienced vertiginous ups and downs since the 1960s, and brings it up to modern standards within the broader context of multilevel selection (MLS) theory. It specifically offers a brief overview of MLS theory, major evolutionary transitions, and human evolution as a major transition, so that these subjects can become part of an extended evolutionary synthesis. The chapter also describes how MLS theory relates to the Modern Synthesis. A comment on all aspects of human behavior and culture from an evolutionary perspective is then presented.Less
This chapter reviews the debate on group selection, a concept that has experienced vertiginous ups and downs since the 1960s, and brings it up to modern standards within the broader context of multilevel selection (MLS) theory. It specifically offers a brief overview of MLS theory, major evolutionary transitions, and human evolution as a major transition, so that these subjects can become part of an extended evolutionary synthesis. The chapter also describes how MLS theory relates to the Modern Synthesis. A comment on all aspects of human behavior and culture from an evolutionary perspective is then presented.
Cédric Paternotte
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199382514
- eISBN:
- 9780199382538
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199382514.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Metaphysics/Epistemology
There exist many definitions of human joint action. However, they do not agree and are not directly reducible to each other. This multiplicity is due to a lack of constraints on them. This chapter ...
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There exist many definitions of human joint action. However, they do not agree and are not directly reducible to each other. This multiplicity is due to a lack of constraints on them. This chapter argues that they should at least meet an efficiency constraint: any account of joint action has to justify how it reliably leads agents to cooperation. One avenue consists in exploring the analogy between definitions of joint action and of biological individuality. The main components for biological individuality have been identified and their relations are much better understood than those between the components of human joint action. The chapter shows that there are surprisingly strong analogies between the criteria and mechanisms for joint action and for biological individuality. As a result, we can import some insights of the biological literature to define what a joint action is, and when a group can and should be considered as an individual.Less
There exist many definitions of human joint action. However, they do not agree and are not directly reducible to each other. This multiplicity is due to a lack of constraints on them. This chapter argues that they should at least meet an efficiency constraint: any account of joint action has to justify how it reliably leads agents to cooperation. One avenue consists in exploring the analogy between definitions of joint action and of biological individuality. The main components for biological individuality have been identified and their relations are much better understood than those between the components of human joint action. The chapter shows that there are surprisingly strong analogies between the criteria and mechanisms for joint action and for biological individuality. As a result, we can import some insights of the biological literature to define what a joint action is, and when a group can and should be considered as an individual.
Peter Godfrey-Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199552047
- eISBN:
- 9780191810350
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199552047.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
In 1859 Charles Darwin described a deceptively simple mechanism that he called “natural selection,” a combination of variation, inheritance, and reproductive success. He argued that this mechanism ...
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In 1859 Charles Darwin described a deceptively simple mechanism that he called “natural selection,” a combination of variation, inheritance, and reproductive success. He argued that this mechanism was the key to explaining the most puzzling features of the natural world, and science and philosophy were changed forever as a result. The exact nature of the Darwinian process has been controversial ever since, however. The author draws on new developments in biology, philosophy of science, and other fields to give a new analysis and extension of Darwin's idea. The central concept used is that of a “Darwinian population,” a collection of things with the capacity to undergo change by natural selection. From this starting point, new analyses of the role of genes in evolution, the application of Darwinian ideas to cultural change, and “evolutionary transitions” that produce complex organisms and societies are developed.Less
In 1859 Charles Darwin described a deceptively simple mechanism that he called “natural selection,” a combination of variation, inheritance, and reproductive success. He argued that this mechanism was the key to explaining the most puzzling features of the natural world, and science and philosophy were changed forever as a result. The exact nature of the Darwinian process has been controversial ever since, however. The author draws on new developments in biology, philosophy of science, and other fields to give a new analysis and extension of Darwin's idea. The central concept used is that of a “Darwinian population,” a collection of things with the capacity to undergo change by natural selection. From this starting point, new analyses of the role of genes in evolution, the application of Darwinian ideas to cultural change, and “evolutionary transitions” that produce complex organisms and societies are developed.
Glauco Machado and Stephen T. Trumbo
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198797500
- eISBN:
- 9780191838842
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198797500.003.0014
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Parental care is any parental trait that enhances the fitness of a parent’s offspring, and that is likely to have originated and/or be currently maintained for this function. How parental care ...
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Parental care is any parental trait that enhances the fitness of a parent’s offspring, and that is likely to have originated and/or be currently maintained for this function. How parental care evolves and which sex should care for the offspring are central questions in evolutionary biology. The theoretical bases to address these questions were proposed almost 45 years ago, but recent models have challenged classical foundations and proposed new hypotheses. An in-depth account of these models is beyond the scope of this chapter. Updated numbers for the taxonomic distribution and frequency of the different forms of post-ovipositional parental care in insects are provided. These numbers are used to construct hypotheses on the transitions between systems of care, the selective pressures that favoured the origin of care, and the evolution of male care and biparental care. Finally, gaps in our knowledge and indicate possible directions for future studies are empahsized.Less
Parental care is any parental trait that enhances the fitness of a parent’s offspring, and that is likely to have originated and/or be currently maintained for this function. How parental care evolves and which sex should care for the offspring are central questions in evolutionary biology. The theoretical bases to address these questions were proposed almost 45 years ago, but recent models have challenged classical foundations and proposed new hypotheses. An in-depth account of these models is beyond the scope of this chapter. Updated numbers for the taxonomic distribution and frequency of the different forms of post-ovipositional parental care in insects are provided. These numbers are used to construct hypotheses on the transitions between systems of care, the selective pressures that favoured the origin of care, and the evolution of male care and biparental care. Finally, gaps in our knowledge and indicate possible directions for future studies are empahsized.
Andrew H. Knoll and David Hewitt
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015240
- eISBN:
- 9780262295703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015240.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter develops a subtle model that integrates environmental and internal factors. It describes the phylogenetic distribution of multicellular organisms in general and complex multicellular ...
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This chapter develops a subtle model that integrates environmental and internal factors. It describes the phylogenetic distribution of multicellular organisms in general and complex multicellular life in particular, clarifying the important distinction between the two. This chapter shows that the long apparent lag between the appearance of simple multicellularity in eukaryotes and the radiation of groups with complex multicellular organization has an environmental component that can be associated back to the consequences of life with interior and exterior cells. It suggests that the evolutionary transition from unicells to complex multicellular organisms has several steps.Less
This chapter develops a subtle model that integrates environmental and internal factors. It describes the phylogenetic distribution of multicellular organisms in general and complex multicellular life in particular, clarifying the important distinction between the two. This chapter shows that the long apparent lag between the appearance of simple multicellularity in eukaryotes and the radiation of groups with complex multicellular organization has an environmental component that can be associated back to the consequences of life with interior and exterior cells. It suggests that the evolutionary transition from unicells to complex multicellular organisms has several steps.
Derek Bickerton and Eörs Szathmáry (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262013567
- eISBN:
- 9780262258586
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262013567.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Syntax is arguably the most human-specific aspect of language. Despite the proto-linguistic capacities of some animals, syntax appears to be the last major evolutionary transition in humans that has ...
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Syntax is arguably the most human-specific aspect of language. Despite the proto-linguistic capacities of some animals, syntax appears to be the last major evolutionary transition in humans that has some genetic basis. Yet what are the elements to a scenario that can explain such a transition? In this book, experts from linguistics, neurology and neurobiology, cognitive psychology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and computer modeling address this question. The book follows through on a growing consensus among researchers that language can be profitably separated into a number of related and interacting but largely autonomous functions, each of which may have a distinguishable evolutionary history and neurological base. The chapters argue that syntax is such a function. The book describes the current state of research on syntax in different fields, with special emphasis on areas in which the findings of particular disciplines might shed light on problems faced by other disciplines. It defines areas where consensus has been established with regard to the nature, infrastructure, and evolution of the syntax of natural languages; summarizes and evaluates contrasting approaches in areas that remain controversial; and suggests lines for future research to resolve at least some of these disputed issues.Less
Syntax is arguably the most human-specific aspect of language. Despite the proto-linguistic capacities of some animals, syntax appears to be the last major evolutionary transition in humans that has some genetic basis. Yet what are the elements to a scenario that can explain such a transition? In this book, experts from linguistics, neurology and neurobiology, cognitive psychology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and computer modeling address this question. The book follows through on a growing consensus among researchers that language can be profitably separated into a number of related and interacting but largely autonomous functions, each of which may have a distinguishable evolutionary history and neurological base. The chapters argue that syntax is such a function. The book describes the current state of research on syntax in different fields, with special emphasis on areas in which the findings of particular disciplines might shed light on problems faced by other disciplines. It defines areas where consensus has been established with regard to the nature, infrastructure, and evolution of the syntax of natural languages; summarizes and evaluates contrasting approaches in areas that remain controversial; and suggests lines for future research to resolve at least some of these disputed issues.
Claudio Lomnitz
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226185064
- eISBN:
- 9780226185088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226185088.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter examines the early formation of the culture of dependent nationalism, a form of historical consciousness that fosters a pragmatic and immoral realism and which justifies private benefits ...
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This chapter examines the early formation of the culture of dependent nationalism, a form of historical consciousness that fosters a pragmatic and immoral realism and which justifies private benefits gained from the regretful present with a language of evolutionary transition. It conceives of dependency as a specific condition that emerged in Latin America, when the national economies of those countries were reoriented to the United States and the United States became the guardian of their national credit, a process that began to take shape in the 1870s but which only became a palpable reality by the late 1890s. The chapter also explores the culture of dependency by way of its “chronotopes,” that is, through the ways in which the nation was figured in space and time. Two competing figures are described that emerged in this period. One of these took shape in a new field of international relations, whereas the other was a product of emerging grassroots transnational organization. These two competing spatiotemporal frameworks are a defining characteristic of dependency as a form of historical consciousness.Less
This chapter examines the early formation of the culture of dependent nationalism, a form of historical consciousness that fosters a pragmatic and immoral realism and which justifies private benefits gained from the regretful present with a language of evolutionary transition. It conceives of dependency as a specific condition that emerged in Latin America, when the national economies of those countries were reoriented to the United States and the United States became the guardian of their national credit, a process that began to take shape in the 1870s but which only became a palpable reality by the late 1890s. The chapter also explores the culture of dependency by way of its “chronotopes,” that is, through the ways in which the nation was figured in space and time. Two competing figures are described that emerged in this period. One of these took shape in a new field of international relations, whereas the other was a product of emerging grassroots transnational organization. These two competing spatiotemporal frameworks are a defining characteristic of dependency as a form of historical consciousness.
