Evolution

by Naff, Clay Farris

• ISBN13: 9780737728231
• ISBN10: 073772823X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-28
• Publisher: Greenhaven Pr

Summary

Evolution, a grand explanation for life's myriad forms, has come a long way since Charles Darwin first published it at length in 1859. The science of genetics, for example, has lent it new detail and support. Nonetheless, owing to a perception that it undermines religion, evolution continues to be contentious in public education.

Table of Contents

Foreword	11	(3)
Introduction	14	(15)
Chapter 1: Origins of a Theory
1. Ancient Greek Speculations on the Origins of Life by G.E.R. Lloyd	29	(8)
Philosophers of ancient Greece attempted to come up with natural explanations for the origin and diversity of life. Some hit on ideas that came close to the modern theory of evolution.
2. The Other Darwin by Erasmus Darwin	37	(7)
Long before Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection, his grandfather Erasmus laid some foundations for the theory with a book of his own.
3. Lamarck Makes a False Start by Michael Ruse	44	(8)
The French biologist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck believed that over time creatures acquired characteristics that allowed them to progress from simpler to more complex life-forms.
4. Darwin's Voyage of Discovery by Jonathan Weiner	52	(9)
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution had its roots in a journey around the world aboard the HMS Beagle. He served as the ship's naturalist, collecting specimens of plants and animals, especially from the Galapagos Islands.
5. How Life Diversifies by Charles Darwin	61	(11)
Darwin explains that competition for survival means that those individuals with the most beneficially adapted traits win out over others and pass along their characteristics to the next generation.
6. Darwin's Doppelgänger by Bert James Loewenberg	72	(12)
The theory of evolution for which Charles Darwin is credited also occurred almost simultaneously to a man now nearly forgotten. Alfred Russel Wallace's parallel writings prompted Darwin to speed up the completion of his book On the Origin of Species.
7. The Threat of Darwinism by William Jennings Bryan	84	(6)
A prosecutor in the 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial" ex-plains why he considers teaching evolution in public schools a dangerous mistake.
Chapter 2: The Modern Theory
1. An Introduction to Modern Evolutionary Biology by Chris Colby	90	(11)
Mutations in the genetic code produce variations within a species that enable some individuals to adapt better than others, thereby assuring the spread of the beneficial genes to the next generation.
2. Evidence for Evolution by the National Academy of Sciences	101	(11)
According to the nation's leading scientific organization, various lines of evidence, from fossils to DNA analysis, confirm the theory of evolution.
3. How Evolution Achieves the Improbable by Richard Dawkins	112	(7)
A zoologist who has helped to modernize Darwin's theory explains how complex organs such as the eye can develop through variation and natural selection. Small, beneficial mutations passed down to future generations can, he says, eventually produce such amazing structures.
4. How Early Bacteria Jump-Started Evolution by Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan	119	(8)
A renowned biologist and her son describe the pro-found influence bacteria have had on the course of evolution. Starting about 2 billion years ago, certain microbes began to use water for fuel, and in the process, they transformed the earth's atmosphere and gave evolution a boost.
5. Tracing Humanity's Origins by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin	127	(10)
A famed fossil hunter and his coauthor describe the search for humanity's origins among hominid fossils. They conclude that humans are members of the ape family.
Chapter 3: Contemporary Controversies
1. Evolution Is Unscientific by Duane Gish	137	(9)
A leading advocate of biblical creationism explains why in his view the theory of evolution is unscientific. No one has observed evolutionary processes at work, he contends, and the fossil record fails to support the theory.
2. Evolution Is a Creation Myth by Phillip E. Johnson	146	(9)
Scientists who buy into evolution's basic assumptions are swallowing a creation myth, argues a law professor who is a leader of the intelligent design movement.
3. The Theory of Evolution Is Scientific by Robert T. Pennock	155	(11)
A philosopher and biologist says creationist arguments against evolution miss the mark. In particular, he says, those who call evolution "only" a theory fail to recognize that in science a theory is not a guess but a tested explanation for a body of related facts.
4. Creationist Arguments Against Evolution Are Faulty by Niles Eldredge	166	(9)
A curator at a leading natural history museum explains why he believes that creationist attacks on evolution have failed to undermine the theory.
Chapter 4: New Currents in Evolution
1. Sex and Evolution by Matt Ridley	175	(5)
The "Red Queen" theory explains how the advantages of shuffling genes through sex outweighs its costs.
2. How Mothers Shape Evolution by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy	180	(11)
Traditional science has had an unfortunate tendency to focus almost exclusively on the behavior of males to explain evolutionary processes. A feminist anthropologist argues that female instincts and choices are at least as important in evolutionary history.
3. Evolutionary Medicine by Randolph M. Nesse and George C. Williams	191	(12)
A physician and a famed evolutionary biologist de- scribe how medicine has begun to make use of evolutionary insights into pathogens as a basis for new medical strategies.
Chronology	203	(5)
For Further Research	208	(5)
Index	213