A01=John Reiss
aristotle
Author_John Reiss
biology
Category=PSAJ
charles darwin
christianity
conceptual framework
conservation biology
darwin
ecology
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eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_science
evo devo
evolution
evolutionary biology
evolutionary explanation
evolutionary theory
existence
experiments
genetic drift
genetic load
intelligent design
materialism
natural evolution
natural selection
on the origin of species
physiology
plato
quantitative genetics
rational theology
socrates
structure of the universe
teleology
theoretical
universe as a watch
william paley
Product details
- ISBN 9780520271296
- Weight: 635g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jul 2011
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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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.
