Synopses & Reviews
The concept of fitness has long been a topic of intense debate among evolutionary biologists and their critics, with its definition and explanatory power coming under attack. In this book, Richard Michod offers a fresh, dynamical interpretation of evolution and fitness concepts. He argues that evolution has no enduring products; what matters is the process of genetic change. Whereas many biologists have focused on competition and aggression as determining factors in survival, Michod, by concentrating on the emergence of individuality at new and more complex levels, finds that cooperation plays even a greater role.
Michod first considers the principles behind the hierarchically nested levels of organization that constitute life: genes, chromosomes, genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, and societies. By examining the evolutionary transitions from the molecular level up to the whole organism, the author explains how cooperation and conflict in a multilevel setting leads to new levels of fitness. He builds a model of fitness drawing on recent developments in ecology and multilevel selection theory and on new explanations of the origin of life. Michod concludes with a discussion of the philosophical implications of his theory of fitness, a theory that addresses the most fundamental and unique concept in all of biology.
Review
"Individuality and fitness, two of the most fundamental concepts in evolutionary theory, are anything but simple. Theoretical biologist Richard Michod reviews and extends the state of the art for these subjects in Darwinian Dynamics.... [These are] some of the most exciting advances in modern biology from one of its most able practitioners."--David Sloan Wilson, Human Biology
Review
"Darwinian Dynamics is an excellent and masterful synthesis of the current understanding about how evolutionary principles work at the various levels of biological organization.... Much like Einstein's theories of relativity extended classical mechanics, Michod's multi-selection theory is an extension of classical selection theory.... Well produced and current.... Michod has written what should be a classic for decades to come."--Norman A. Johnson, Bioscience
Review
Darwinian Dynamics is an excellent and masterful synthesis of the current understanding about how evolutionary principles work at the various levels of biological organization.... Much like Einstein's theories of relativity extended classical mechanics, Michod's multi-selection theory is an extension of classical selection theory.... Well produced and current.... Michod has written what should be a classic for decades to come. Norman A. Johnson
Review
Darwinian Dynamics is an excellent and masterful synthesis of the current understanding about how evolutionary principles work at the various levels of biological organization.... Much like Einstein's theories of relativity extended classical mechanics, Michod's multi-selection theory is an extension of classical selection theory.... Well produced and current.... Michod has written what should be a classic for decades to come. Norman A. Johnson
Review
Individuality and fitness, two of the most fundamental concepts in evolutionary theory, are anything but simple. Theoretical biologist Richard Michod reviews and extends the state of the art for these subjects in Darwinian Dynamics.... [These are] some of the most exciting advances in modern biology from one of its most able practitioners. Bioscience
Synopsis
The concept of fitness has long been a topic of intense debate among evolutionary biologists and their critics, with its definition and explanatory power coming under attack. In this book, Richard Michod offers a fresh, dynamical interpretation of evolution and fitness concepts. He argues that evolution has no enduring products; what matters is the process of genetic change. Whereas many biologists have focused on competition and aggression as determining factors in survival, Michod, by concentrating on the emergence of individuality at new and more complex levels, finds that cooperation plays even a greater role.
Michod first considers the principles behind the hierarchically nested levels of organization that constitute life: genes, chromosomes, genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, and societies. By examining the evolutionary transitions from the molecular level up to the whole organism, the author explains how cooperation and conflict in a multilevel setting leads to new levels of fitness. He builds a model of fitness drawing on recent developments in ecology and multilevel selection theory and on new explanations of the origin of life. Michod concludes with a discussion of the philosophical implications of his theory of fitness, a theory that addresses the most fundamental and unique concept in all of biology.
Synopsis
The concept of fitness has long been a topic of intense debate among evolutionary biologists and their critics, with its definition and explanatory power coming under attack. In this book, Richard Michod offers a fresh, dynamical interpretation of evolution and fitness concepts. He argues that evolution has no enduring products; what matters is the process of genetic change. Whereas many biologists have focused on competition and aggression as determining factors in survival, Michod, by concentrating on the emergence of individuality at new and more complex levels, finds that cooperation plays even a greater role.
Michod first considers the principles behind the hierarchically nested levels of organization that constitute life: genes, chromosomes, genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, and societies. By examining the evolutionary transitions from the molecular level up to the whole organism, the author explains how cooperation and conflict in a multilevel setting leads to new levels of fitness. He builds a model of fitness drawing on recent developments in ecology and multilevel selection theory and on new explanations of the origin of life. Michod concludes with a discussion of the philosophical implications of his theory of fitness, a theory that addresses the most fundamental and unique concept in all of biology.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1 The Language of Selection
Plan of the Book
Darwinian Dynamics
Major Evolutionary Transitions
Cooperation and Conflict
Fisherian Fitness
Deconstructing Fitness
Selection as Fitness Covariance
Mathematical Models
Adequacy Criterion for Understanding Fitness
Definitions of Basic Concepts
CHAPTER 2 Origin of Fitness
Complementarity
Spontaneous Creation
Self-Replication and the Origin of Fitness
Replicator Dynamics
Design Analysis of Molecular Replicator
Life History Evolution
Survival of the Fittest
Survival of Anybody
Overview of the Origin of Fitness
CHAPTER 3 The First Individuals
Origin of Gene Networks
Cooperation and Conflict
Survival of the First
Evolutionary Transitions Are Inherently Nonlinear
Origin of Hypercycles
Quasispecies
Population Structure
Kin Selection in Evolutionary Transitions
Conflict Mediation through Individuality
Further Evolution of the Cell
Heritable Capacities of Single Cells
Reconsidering Adaptedness and Fitness
Early Transitions in Evolution
CHAPTER 4 Evolution of Interactions
Gene Frequency Change
Population Growth
Frequency-Dependent Selection
Constant Selection
Adaptive Topography
Frequency Dependence Decouples Fitness in a Selection Hierarchy
Selection as Covariance
Fisher's Fundamental Theorem
Evolution in Hierarchically Structured Populations
Evolution of Multicellular Organisms
Kin Selection
Game Theory
Modification of Genetic Constraints
Population Dynamics and Natural Selection
Fitness Minima
Prisoner's Dilemma
Spatial Structure and the Evolution of
Cooperation
The Problem of Frequency Dependence
CHAPTER 5 Multilevel Selection of the Organism
A Scenario
A Model for the Emergence of Organisms
Recurrence Equations
Within-Organism Mutation Selection Model
Mutation Rate
Covariance Methods
The Risk of Development
Increase of Cooperation
Level of Cooperation among Cells within Organisms
Fitness of Organisms
Effect of Sex and Diploidy on the Emerging Organism
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Model
CHAPTER 6 Rediscovering Individuality
Evolutionary Individuals
Two-Locus Modifier Model
Model Parameters
Equilibria of the System
Evolution of the Germ Line
Evolution of the Mutation Rate
Evolution of Self-Policing
Evolution of Adult Size
Effect of Transition on the Level of
Cooperation
Increase of Fitness Covariance at Organism
Level
Heritability of Fitness and the Evolution
of Individuality
Sex and Individuality
Origin of Multicellular Life
Transitions in Individuality
CHAPTER 7 Fitness Explanations
Overview of Fitness and Natural Selection
Trading Fitness through Cooperation
Kinship and Population Structure
Conflict Mediation
Reconsidering Fitness
The "Tautology Problem"
Surrogates for Natural Selection
Evolution of Selfing
Cost of Sex
Immortality, Death, and the Life Cycle
Kin Selection of Altruism
Heterozygote Superiority
Sickle Cell Anemia
Darwin's Dilemmas
CHAPTER 8 A Philosophy of Fitness
Dynamics of Design
What Makes Biology Different?
Success and Design
Long-Term versus Short-Term Measures of Fitness
Darwinian Dynamics
Natural Selection as a Biological Law
Paradigms for Natural Selection
Fitness in Darwinian Dynamics
The Insufficiency of Individual Fitness
Heritability and Natural Selection
Schema for Natural Selection
The Propensity Interpretation of Fitness
Brandon's Approach
Heritable Capacities as Components of Design
Overall Adaptedness of Organisms
Masking of Adaptiveness
Are Adaptation Concepts Necessary?
F-Fitness and Evolutionary Explanations
Explaining Fitness
APPENDIX A Supporting Analyses
Statistics of Fitness and Selection
Equilibria for Modifier Model (G = 0)
Cost of Sex in Diploids
APPENDIX B Fitness Phrases
APPENDIX C Notation
Notes
References
Index