The expanded evolutionary synthesis—a response to Godfrey-Smith, Haig, and west-Eberhard
Biology and Philosophy 22 (3):453-472 (2007)
| Abstract | In responding to three reviews of Evolution in Four Dimensions (Jablonka and Lamb, 2005, MIT Press), we briefly consider the historical background to the present genecentred view of evolution, especially the way in which Weismann’s theories have influenced it, and discuss the origins of the notion of epigenetic inheritance. We reaffirm our belief that all types of hereditary information—genetic, epigenetic, behavioural and cultural—have contributed to evolutionary change, and outline recent evidence, mainly from epigenetic studies, that suggests that non-DNA heritable variations are not rare and can be quite stable. We describe ways in which such variations may have influenced evolution. The approach we take leads to broader definitions of terms such as ‘units of heredity’, ‘units of evolution’, and ‘units of selection’, and we maintain that ‘information’ can be a useful concept if it is defined in terms of its effects on the receiver. Although we agree that evolutionary theory is not undergoing a Kuhnian revolution, the incorporation of new data and ideas about hereditary variation, and about the role of development in generating it, is leading to a version of Darwinism that is very different from the gene-centred one that dominated evolutionary thinking in the second half of the twentieth century. | |||||||||
| 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: 5,875 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesJames Griesemer (2000). Development, Culture, and the Units of Inheritance. Philosophy of Science 67 (3):368.
Massimo Pigliucci (2009). An Extended Synthesis for Evolutionary Biology. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1168:218-228.
Nicholas Shea, Ido Pen & Tobias Uller (2011). Three Epigenetic Information Channels and Their Different Roles in Evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24:1178-87.
Ehud Lamm & Eva Jablonka (2008). The Nurture of Nature: Hereditary Plasticity in Evolution. Philosophical Psychology 21 (3):305 – 319.
Massimo Pigliucci (2007). Do We Need an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis? Evolution 61 (12):2743-2749.
Eva Jablonka (2002). Information: Its Interpretation, its Inheritance, and its Sharing. Philosophy of Science 69 (4):578-605.
Christina Richards, Oliver Bossdorf & Massimo Pigliucci (2010). What Role Does Heritable Epigenetic Variation Play in Phenotypic Evolution? BioScience 60 (3):232-237.
Root Gorelick (2006). Evolutionary Flatland: Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life Eva Jablonka and Marion J. Lamb Cambridge, MA : MIT Press , 2005 (472 Pp; $34.95 Hbk; ISBN 0-262-10107-6). [REVIEW] Biological Theory 1 (2):203-205.
Eva Jablonka & Marion J. Lamb (1998). Bridges Between Development and Evolution. Biology and Philosophy 13 (1).
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads25 ( #50,393 of 556,837 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #64,847 of 556,837 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
