Progress through evolution? An inquiry into the thought of C.h. Waddington
Acta Biotheoretica 30 (2) (1981)
| Abstract | It was C.H. Waddington's contention that the Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution ought to be amended by imbedding it in a broader theoretical framework which takes the role of the phenotype into account. Waddington's theory alleges the existence of two interlocking feedback circuits between environment and phenotype on the one hand and genotype and phenotype on the other. The resulting dynamical model of evolutionary change gives new meaning to the notion of progress in evolution. In this model natural selection acts directly on the phenotype, thereby influencing the feedback relationships. Better tuning of the feedback relations, however, leads to progress in adaptability which in Waddington's theory replaces the cumbersome concept of progress in adaptation.This paper expounds Waddington's theory and places it into a broader philosophical perspective. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesArthur E. Falk (1981). Purpose, Feedback, and Evolution. Philosophy of Science 48 (2):198-217.
J. Scott Turner (2004). Extended Phenotypes and Extended Organisms. Biology and Philosophy 19 (3):327-352.
Scott F. Gilbert (1991). Epigenetic Landscaping: Waddington's Use of Cell Fate Bifurcation Diagrams. Biology and Philosophy 6 (2):135-154.
Leslie Sklair (1968). Gomte and the Idea of Progress. Inquiry 11 (1-4):321 – 331.
Erich Jantsch (ed.) (1976). Evolution And Consciousness: Human Systems In Transition. Reading Ma: Addison-Wesley.
Bernd Rosslenbroich (2006). The Notion of Progress in Evolutionary Biology – the Unresolved Problem and an Empirical Suggestion. Biology and Philosophy 21 (1):41-70.
Melinda Fagan (2012). Waddington Redux: Models and Explanation in Stem Cell and Systems Biology. Biology and Philosophy 27 (2):179-213.
Timothy Shanahan (2004). The Evolution of Darwinism: Selection, Adaptation, and Progress in Evolutionary Biology. Cambridge University Press.
Kai Hahlweg (1991). On the Notion of Evolutionary Progress. Philosophy of Science 58 (3):436-451.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads14 ( #83,077 of 549,070 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
