Robert Brandon is one of the most important and influential of contemporary philosophers of biology. This collection of his recent essays covers all the traditional topics in the philosophy of evolutionary biology and as such could serve as an introduction to the field. There are essays on the nature of fitness, teleology, the structure of the theory of natural selection, and the levels of selection. The book also deals with newer topics that are less frequently discussed but are of growing interest, e.g. the evolution of human language and the role of experimentation in evolutionary...
Robert Brandon is one of the most important and influential of contemporary philosophers of biology. This collection of his recent essays covers all t...
Life on earth is characterized by three striking phenomena that demand explanation: adaptation the marvelous fit between organism and environment; diversity the great variety of organisms; and complexity the enormous intricacy of their internal structure. Natural selection explains adaptation. But what explains diversity and complexity? Daniel W. McShea and Robert N. Brandon argue that there exists in evolution a spontaneous tendency toward increased diversity and complexity, one that acts whether natural selection is present or not. They call this tendency a biological law the Zero-Force...
Life on earth is characterized by three striking phenomena that demand explanation: adaptation the marvelous fit between organism and environment; ...
By focusing on the crucial role of environment in the process of adaptation, Robert Brandon clarifies definitions and principles so as to help make the argument of evolution by natural selection empirically testable. He proposes that natural selection is the process of differential reproduction resulting from differential adaptedness to a common selective environment.
Originally published in 1990.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton...
By focusing on the crucial role of environment in the process of adaptation, Robert Brandon clarifies definitions and principles so as to help make...
