The Structure of Evolutionary Theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Author | Stephen Jay Gould |
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| Genre(s) | Non-fiction, Science |
| Publisher | Belknap Press |
| Released | March 21, 2002 |
| Pages | 1,433 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-674-00613-5 |
| Preceded by | The Lying Stones of Marrakech |
| Followed by | I Have Landed |
The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (2002) is a technical book on macroevolutionary theory by the Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. The volume is divided into two parts. The first is a historical study and exegesis of classical evolutionary thought. The second is a constructive critique of contemporary Darwinian theory, and presents a case for a hierarchical interpretation of biological evolution based largely on the author's theory of punctuated equilibrium.
According to Gould, classical Darwinism encompasses three essential core commitments. These are: agency, efficacy, and scope. Agency is the unit upon which natural selection acts. For Darwin, this fundamental unit was the organism. Efficacy encompasses the power of natural selection—over all other forces—in shaping evolution at ecological scales. (Auxiliary forces include sexual selection, as well as historical, structural, and developmental constraints.) Scope is the degree to which natural selection can be extrapolated to explain biological diversity at the macroevolutionary level, including the evolution of higher taxonomic groups.
Gould described these three propositions as the "tripod" of Darwinian central logic. Each being so essential to the structure that if any branch were cut, it would either kill, revise, or superficially refurbish the whole structure (depending on the severity of the cut). According to Gould "substantial changes, introduced during the last half of the 20th century, have built a structure so expanded beyond the original Darwinian core, and so enlarged by new principles of macroevolutionary explanation, that the full exposition, while remaining within the domain of Darwinian logic, must be construed as basically different from the canonical theory of natural selection, rather than simply extended."
[edit] Reviews
- Anonymous. The grand view The Economist December 5, 2002.
- Ayala, Francisco (2005) On Stephen Jay Gould's monumental masterpiece. Theology and Science 3 (March): 97-118.
- Barash, David (2002) Grappling with the ghost of Gould Human Nature Review 2 (July 9): 283-292.
- Brown, Andrew (2002) Adventures in evolution The Guardian, Saturday May 25, 2002.
- DiMichele, William (2003) A season with Steve Gould American Journal of Science 303 (March): 259-261.
- Doughty, Howard (2005) Review The College Quarterly 8 (1).
- Erwin, Douglas H. (2004) One very long argument. Biology and Philosophy. 19 (1): 17-28.
- Flannery, Tim (2002) A new Darwinism? New York Review of Books 49 (May 23): 52–54.
- Futuyma, Douglas J. (2002) Stephen Jay Gould à la recherche du temps perdu Science (April 26): 661-663
- Ghiselin, Michael T. (2002) An autobiographical anatomy Hist. Philos. Life. Sci. 24: 285-291.
- Grantham, Todd (2004) Constraints and spandrels in Gould's Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Biology and Philosophy. 19 (1): 29-43.
- Hull, David L. (2002) A career in the glare of public acclaim Bioscience 52 (September): 837-841.
- Jablonski, David (2002) A more modern synthesis American Scientist 90 (July-August): 368-371.
- Korthof, Gert (2004) Stephen Jay Gould as a critic of orthodox Neo-Darwinism <http://home.planet.nl/~gkorthof/korthof63.htm>
- Marshall, James (2004) Review of "The Structure of Evolutionary Theory" by S. J. Gould. Artificial Life 10 (1): 113-115.
- McGarr, Paul (2003) Revolutions in evolution International Socialism Journal 100 (Autumn): 81-112.
- McShea, Daniel (2004) A revised Darwinism. Biology and Philosophy. 19 (1): 45-53.
- Monastersky, Richard (2002) Revising the book of life The Chronicle, March 15, A14.
- Orr, H. Allen (2002) The descent of Gould The New Yorker, September 30, p. 132.
- Perlman, David (2002) A Darwinian leap San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, RV-1.
- Quammen, David (2003) The man who knew too much Harper's Magazine, June, pp. 73-80.
- Raymo, Chet (2002) Gould's last book is fitting epitaph. Boston Globe, May 28.
- Ridley, Mark (2002) Stephen Jay Gould wants an evolution revolution The New York Times, March 17, sect. 7, col. 1, p. 11.
- Shermer, Michael (2002) Grand design Washington Post, April 14, BW04.
- Shostak, Stanley (2003) Struggle in the structure of evolutionary theory. Boundary 2 30 (Fall): 213-239.
- Turner, John R.G. (2002) Toe-breaker or epoch-maker? The Spectator, June 29.
- Wake, David B. (2002) A few words about evolution Nature 416 (April 25): 787-788.
- Zimmerman, William F. (2003) Stephen Jay Gould's final view of evolution Quarterly Review of Biology 78 (4): 454-459.
