Handbook of Evolution: The Evolution of Living Systems (Including Hominids), Volume 2

by Editor: Franz M. Wuketits (University of Vienna, Austria ); Editor: Francisco J. Ayala

• ISBN13: 9783527308385
• ISBN10: 3527308385
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-01
• Publisher: Vch Pub

Summary

This two-volume handbook is unique in spanning the entire field of evolution, from the origins of life up to the formation of social structures and science and technology. The author team of world-renowned experts considers the subject from a variety of disciplines, with continuous cross-referencing so as to retain a logical internal structure. The uniformly structured contributions discuss not merely the general knowledge behind the evolution of life, but also the corresponding development of language, society, economies, morality and politics. The result is an overview of the history and methods used in the study of evolution, including controversial theories and discussions. A must for researchers in the natural sciences, sociology and philosophy, as well as for those interested in an interdisciplinary view of the status of evolution today.

Author Biography

Born in 1955, Franz M. Wuketits studied zoology, paleontology, philosophy, and philosophy of science and obtained his PhD in 1978 from the University of Vienna, Austria, where he has been teaching philosophy of science since 1980, with a special emphasis on biology. He has also lectured at the University of Graz, Austria, and the Technical University of Vienna. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research and a member of the advisory board of several scientific institutions. He is the author of 29 books, editor or co-editor of 12 volumes and has numerous articles to his name. In 1982, Professor Wuketits received the Austrian Award for Scientific Publishing

Born in Madrid, Spain, Francisco J. Ayala is Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, USA. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and numerous foreign academies, and has received numerous prizes and honorary degrees, including the National Medal of Science in 2002. He has published more than 850 articles and is the author or editor of 19 books. Professor Ayala's research focuses on population and evolutionary genetics, including the origin of species, genetic diversity of populations, the origin of malaria, the population structure of parasitic protozoa, and the molecular clock of evolution.

Table of Contents

Preface.

List of Contributors.

1 The Evolution of Organisms: A Synopsis (Francisco J. Ayala).

1.1 Biological Diversity and Evolution.

1.2 Evolutionary Theory.

1.3 The Evidence for Evolution: Paleontology.

1.4 Genetics of Evolution.

1.5 Natural Selection.

1.6 Sexual Selection and Kin Selection.

1.7 The Origin of Species.

1.8 Evolutionary History.

1.9 Punctuational Evolution.

1.10 Molecular Evolution.

2 The Evolution Controversies: An Overview (Michael Ruse).

2.1 Introduction.

2.2 The History of Evolutionism.

2.3 Origin of Life.

2.4 Natural Selection.

2.5 Human Sociobiology.

2.6 The Creationist Controversy.

2.7 Conclusions.

2.8 References.

3 The Effects of Complex Social Life on Evolution and Biodiversity (Edward O. Wilson).

3.1 Introduction.

3.2 Sociality and Rate of Evolution.

3.3 Sociality, Success, and Dominance.

3.4 References.

4 The Theory of Biological Evolution: Historical and Philosophical Aspects (Franz M. Wuketits).

4.1 Introduction.

4.2 “Forerunners” of Darwin.

4.3 What is an Evolutionary Theory and Who was the First Evolutionary Theorist?

4.4 Obstacles to Evolutionary Thinking.

4.5 Charles Darwin (1809–1882): The Theory of Natural Selection.

4.6 Darwin and After Darwin.

4.7 References.

5 Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Gerd B. Müller).

5.1 Introduction.

5.2 Historical Roots.

5.3 Agenda and Concepts.

5.4 Research Programs and Methods.

5.5 Practical and Theoretical Integration.

5.6 Prospects.

5.7 References.

6 Human Biological Evolution (Winfried Henke).

6.1 Summary.

6.2 Introduction to the Issue.

6.3 Human Biological Evolution: a Current Review.

6.4 Concluding Remarks.

6.5 References.

7 Evolution on a Restless Planet: Were Environmental Variability and Environmental Change Major Drivers of Human Evolution? (Peter J. Richerson, Robert L. Bettinger, and Robert Boyd).

7.1 Introduction.

7.2 The Evolution of Cenozoic Environments.

7.3 Climate and the Evolution of Large Brains and Cultural Artifacts.

7.4 Learning and Social Learning as Responses to Variability Selection.

7.5 Internal Constraints on the Evolution of Human Culture.

7.6 Cultural Evolution in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.

7.7 Anthropogenic Effects on Climate Evolution.

7.8 Conclusions.

7.9 References.

8 The Human Impact (Bernhard Verbeek).

8.1 Introduction.

8.2 How an Extraterrestrial Would Perceive Modern Humans.

8.3 Pre-established Harmony.

8.4 The Progress of Civilization.

8.5 Ecology and the Human Being.

8.6 Evolution of Sustainability.

8.7 Back to the Past.

8.8 Culture: Evolution at a Meta Level.

8.9 Genome and Culture.

8.10 How Do We Learn Culture?

8.11 Evolutionarily Formed Learning Dispositions.

8.12 The Ecological–Social Dilemma.

8.13 Sustainability Through Faka-Tonga.

8.14 Cultural Comparison.

8.15 The Power of Constraints.

8.16 Critical Phase of Evolution.

8.17 References.

Index.