Not by Design
University of California Press (Verlag)
978-0-520-27129-6 (ISBN)
More than two centuries ago, William Paley introduced his famous metaphor of the universe as a watch made by the Creator. For Paley, the exquisite structure of the universe necessitated a designer. Today, some 150 years since Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" was published, the argument of design is seeing a revival. This provocative work tells how Darwin left the door open for this revival - and at the same time argues for a new conceptual framework that avoids the problematic teleology inherent in Darwin's formulation of natural selection. In a wide-ranging discussion of the historical and philosophical dimensions of evolutionary theory from the ancient Greeks to today, John Reiss argues that we should look to the principle of the conditions for existence, first formulated before On the Origin of Species by the French paleontologist Georges Cuvier, to clarify the relation of adaptation to evolution. Reiss suggests that Cuvier's principle can help resolve persistent issues in evolutionary biology, including the proper definition of natural selection, the distinction between natural selection and genetic drift, and the meaning of genetic load.
Moreover, he shows how this principle can help unite diverse areas of biology, ranging from quantitative genetics and the theory of the levels of selection to evo-devo, ecology, physiology, and conservation biology.
John O. Reiss is Professor of Zoology at Humboldt State University.
Preface: Beyond the Design Metaphor PART ONE. PROLEGOMENA 1. The Problem Teleology and Natural Selection A Role for History Overview of the Book (and How to Read It) 2. Philosophical Background Teleological Explanation: Intentional, Representational, and Conditional Teleology and Necessity A Taxonomy of Teleology The Principle of the Conditions for Existence The Conditions for Existence and the Weak Anthropic Principle Natural Selection and the Argument from Design The Conditions for Existence and Evolutionary Explanation The Function Debate PART TWO. HOW DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS? FROM SOCRATES AND LUCRETIUS TO CUVIER AND DARWIN 3. Design versus the Epicurean Hypothesis: Two Thousand Years of Debate The Teleologists: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle Empedocles and the Atomists The End of the Classical Era and the Rise of Christianity The Scientific Revolution and the Revolt against Teleology Rational Theology and the Argument of Design: The Later Seventeenth Century The Deists, the Platonists, and the Rebirth of Natural Theology The Mechanical Philosophy and the Argument of Design: Boyle, Ray, and Newton 4. Materialism, Teleology, and Evolution in the Enlightenment The Origins of the Enlightenment: Bayle The Philosophes, Materialism, and Lucretius (1744--1750) Buffon, Maupertuis, and the Birth of Evolutionary Theory (1749--1755) The Later Enlightenment: d'Holbach and Hume Kant and the German Enlightenment The Critical Philosophy 5. Cuvier and the Principle of the Conditions for Existence Biographical Background Cuvier's Project in the Context of Enlightenment Science The Enunciation of the Principle and Its Place in Cuvier's System The Philosophical Origins and Significance of the Principle The Influence of the Principle in France and Germany 6. Darwin, Natural Theology, and the Principle of Natural Selection Adaptedness and Existence in British Natural Theology The Conditions for Existence Meet Natural Theology Geology and the Explanation of Life's History Darwin, Extinction, and Evolution Darwin and the Conditions for Existence Wallace and the Conditions for Existence Darwin, Wallace, and Inheritance Evolutionary Controversies before the Synthesis PART THREE. EVOLUTION IN MENDELIAN POPULATIONS: TELEOLOGY GETS MATHEMATICAL 7. Existence and the Mathematics of Selection: The Adaptive Landscape versus the Fundamental Theorem Mendelism, Selection, and the Modern Synthesis Rates of Increase in Mendelian Populations Fitness in Population Genetics Ironing Out Wright's "Surface of Selective Value" The Genesis of Wright's Surface Fisher and the Fundamental Theorem What Is Selected? Fisher's Geometrical Model of Adaptedness The Reemergence of the Adaptive Landscape 8. Population Growth, Genetic Load, and the Limits of Selection Variance in Rate of Increase: The Opportunity for Selection (and Drift) in Natural Populations Standardized Variance versus Population Growth: Data Standardized Variance versus Population Growth: Mathematical Considerations Genetic Load: The Dark Side of Natural Selection Limits to Selection and the Standardized Variance in Rate of Increase Genetic Load and Genetic Deaths The Measurement of Total Selection in Existing Populations Population Growth, Selection, and Standardized Variance Partitioning the Variance in Rate of Increase across the Life Cycle 9. Natural Selection and Genetic Drift: Their Role in Evolutionary Change What's Really Going On? Model Populations The Hagedoorns, Fisher, and the Origins of Genetic Drift The "Sewall Wright Effect" Drift and the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution Molecular Tests of Drift and Selection Problems in Paradise Drift and Mutation Pressure in Phenotypic Evolution PART FOUR. THE CONDITIONS FOR EXISTENCE AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 10. Adaptedness, Natural Selection, and the Conditions for Existence Adaptation versus Adaptedness Adaptedness of What? Adaptedness, Adaptation, Function, and Natural Selection: How Are They Related? Empirical Studies of Evolution: Bacteria, Peppered Moths, and Darwin's Finches 11. How to Talk about Macroevolution The Explanatory Role of Natural Selection: The Mechanism and the Principle Teleology and the Terminology of Selection Constraints: By What and on What? The Conditions for Existence in Macroevolutionary Explanation: The Origin of Bird Flight 12. The Conditions for Existence as a Unifying Concept in Evolutionary Biology Quantitative Genetics and the Conditions for Existence Levels of Selection and the Conditions for Existence Evo-Devo and the Conditions for Existence The Ecological Niche and the Conditions for Existence Physiology and the Conditions for Existence Conservation Biology, Genetic Load, and the Conditions for Existence CONCLUSION Epilogue: Evolutionary Biology and Intelligent Design Glossary References Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 1.7.2011 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 16 line illustrations, 10 tables |
| Verlagsort | Berkerley |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 635 g |
| Themenwelt | Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution |
| ISBN-10 | 0-520-27129-7 / 0520271297 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-520-27129-6 / 9780520271296 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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