Synopses & Reviews
In science, more than elsewhere, a word is expected to mean what it says, nothing more, nothing less. But scientific discourse is neither different nor separable from ordinary language--meanings are multiple, ambiguities ubiquitous.
Keywords in Evolutionary Biology grapples with this problem in a field especially prone to the confusion engendered by semantic imprecision.
Written by historians, philosophers, and biologists--including, among others, Stephen Jay Gould, Diane Paul, John Beatty, Robert Richards, Richard Lewontin, David Sloan Wilson, Peter Bowler, and Richard Dawkins--these essays identify and explicate those terms in evolutionary biology which, though commonly used, are plagues by multiple concurrent and historically varying meanings. By clarifying these terms in their many guises, the editors Evelyn Fox Keller and Elisabeth Lloyd hope to focus attention on major scholarly problems in the field--problems sometimes obscured, sometimes reveals, and sometimes even created by the use of such equivocal words. "Competition," "adaptation," and "fitness," for instance, are among the terms whose multiple meaning have led to more than merely semantic debates in evolutionary biology.
Exploring the complexity of keywords and clarifying their role in prominent issues in the field, this book will prove invaluable to scientists and philosophers trying to come to terms with evolutionary theory; it will also serve as a useful guide to future research into the way in which scientific language works.
Review
What a splendid idea to have a critical dictionary by established experts of the key words used in recent controversies in evolutionary biology. This helps the understanding of these controversies enormously. Ernst Mayr
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [343]-393) and index.
About the Author
Evelyn Fox Kelleris Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at <>MIT. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and numerous honorary degrees.Elisabeth A. Lloydis Arnold and Maxine Tanis Chair of History and Philosophy of Science and Professor of Biology, <>Indiana University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Contributors Introduction
Evelyn Fox Keller and Elisabeth A. Lloyd ADAPTATION: Historical Perspectives
Richard M. Burian
ADAPTATION: Current Usages
Mary Jane West-Eberhard
ALTRUISM: Theoretical Contexts
Alexander Rosenberg
ALTRUISM: Contemporary Debates
David Sloan Wilson and Lee A. Dugatkin
ALTRUISM: Some Theoretical Ambiguities
Marcy K. Uyenoyama and Marcus W. Feldman
CHARACTER: Historical Perspectives
Lindley Darden
CHARACTER: Current Usages
Kurt Fristrup
COMMUNITY
Peter Taylor
COMPETITION: Historical Perspectives
Robert McIntosh
COMPETITION: Current Usages
Evelyn Fox Keller
DARWINISM
Michael Ruse
ENVIRONMENT
Robert N. Brandon
EPISTASIS
Michael J. Wade
EUGENICS
Daniel J. Kevles
EVOLUTION
Robert J. Richards
EXTINCTION
John Damuth
FITNESS: Historical Perspectives
Diane Paul
FITNESS: Theoretical Contexts
John Beatty
FITNESS: Reproductive Ambiguities
Evelyn Fox Keller
GENE: Historical Perspectives
Jane Maienschein
GENE: Current Usages
Philip Kitcher
GENETIC LOAD
James F. Crow
GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
Richard C. Lewontin
GROUP SELECTION
David Sloan Wilson
HERITABILITY: Historical Perspectives
Michael J. Wade
HERITABILITY: Some Theoretical Ambiguities
Marcus W. Feldman
HETEROCHRONY
Stephen Jay Gould
HETEROSIS
Diane Paul
HOMOLOGY
Michael J. Donoghue
INDIVIDUAL
David L. Hull
LAMARCKISM
Peter J. Bowler
MACROMUTATION
Michael R. Dietrich
MONOPHYLY
Elliott Sober
MUTUALISM AND COOPERATION
Douglas H. Boucher
NATURAL SELECTION: Historical Perspectives
M. J. S. Hodge
NATURAL SELECTION: Current Usages
John A. Endler
NEUTRALISM
Motoo Kimura
NICHE: Historical Perspectives
James R. Griesemer
NICHE: A Bifurcation in the Conceptual Lineage of the Term
Robert K. Colwell
PARSIMONY
Elliott Sober
PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY
Deborah M. Gordon
PROGRESS
Richard Dawkins
RANDOM DRIFT
John Beatty
RESOURCE
Peter Abrams
SEXUAL SELECTION: Historical Perspectives
Helena Cronin
SEXUAL SELECTION: Contemporary Debates
Hamish G. Spencer and Judith C. Masters
SPECIES: Historical Perspectives
Peter F. Stevens
SPECIES: Theoretical Contexts
John Dupré
SPECIES: Current Usages
Mary B. Williams
TELEOLOGY
James G. Lennox
UNIT OF SELECTION
Elisabeth A. Lloyd
References
Index