Evolutionary Processes and Metaphors
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Evolutionary Processes and Metaphors Edited by Mae-Wan Ho, Department of Biology, The Open University, UK Sidney W. Fox, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Evolution, University of Miami, USA The current evolutionary debate encompasses protobiotic chemistry at one extreme and human sociobiology at the other. Meanwhile, significant advances continue to be made in many scientific disciplines which have far-reaching implications on our view of nature. Although it is now generally felt that neo-Darwinism, at least in its orthodox form, is no longer an adequate theory of evolution, very few attempts have yet been made to articulate a coherent alternative out of the many voices of dissent. The purpose of the present volume is two-fold: to work towards a new evolutionary synthesis which takes full account of contemporary knowledge in all disciplines; and to examine explicitly the metaphorical basis of evolutionary theories old and new, as this has a powerful impact on our humanistic perspectives which underpin all social and political actions. We have brought together representatives of two groups of workers: those who ultimately believe in working within a transformed neo-Darwinism, and others who advocate a more radical reorientation away from the orthodoxy. Despite their fundamentally different affiliations, they are nonetheless able to communicate on questions of evolutionary concepts and mechanisms and their wider relevance to science and society. New insights are presented on major issues such as the physicochemical underpinnings of life processes, the meaning of natural selection, the nature of variation, heredity and morphogenesis, the integration of organism and environment, the active role of the organism in evolution and the evolution of human society. The new synthesis which is emerging is an integrated, multilevel and multidisciplinary approach to evolution which accords not only with the state of present-day knowledge, but with our deepest experience of nature.
The publisher, John Wiley & Sons
An interdisciplinary collection of articles based on the Conference on Evolutionary Concepts in Biology and Society, held in Hawk's Cay, Florida in April 1986. Presents the latest thinking on the processes and interpretation of biological evolution, emphasizing the study of biological processes as they occur in living organisms and their communities, rather than through mechanical or statistical models. Contributors explore processes and metaphors in evolution, the origin of the genetic code, new genetic mechanisms and their implications for the formation of new species, panbiogeography, the active role of behavior in evolution, sociobiology, and more.
Evolutionary Processes and Metaphors,Mae-Wan Ho,Sidney W. Fox,John Wiley & Sons Inc,0471918016,Evolution (Biology),Life Sciences - Evolution,Organic Evolution,Science,Science/Mathematics,Evolution
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