Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection fails to explain the forms of organisms because it focuses on inheritance and survival, not on how organisms are generated. The first part of this 2007 book (by Gerry Webster) looks critically of the conceptual structure of Darwinism and describes the limitation of the theory of evolution as a comprehensive biological theory, arguing that a theory of biological form is needed to understand the structure of organisms and their transformations as revealed in taxonomy. The ...
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Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection fails to explain the forms of organisms because it focuses on inheritance and survival, not on how organisms are generated. The first part of this 2007 book (by Gerry Webster) looks critically of the conceptual structure of Darwinism and describes the limitation of the theory of evolution as a comprehensive biological theory, arguing that a theory of biological form is needed to understand the structure of organisms and their transformations as revealed in taxonomy. The second part of the book (by Brian Goodwin) explores such a theory in terms of organisms as developing and transforming dynamic systems, within which gene action is to be understood. A number of specific examples, including tetrapod limb formation and Drosophila development, are used to illustrate how these hierarchically-organized dynamic fields undergo robust symmetry-breaking cascades to produce generic forms.
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Add this copy of Form and Transformation: Generative and Relational to cart. $53.83, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2011 by Cambridge University Press.
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This volume sets out to run counter to the neo - Darwinist inference of onto - and phylogeny. Gerry Webster (Part I.) deduces a certain "natural kind" relation between taxa, which is not understood in terms of strictly "random mutation/environmental selection" principles of that scheme. Rather, it is a concept of invariance under generative transformations. Prof. Brian Goodwin takes up the issue (Part II.) by distinct theories of certain circles of experiences in ontogeny. The central concept is the "morphogenetic field", which is parametrised by both genetic and environmental factors. The ontogenetic process is, thus, in the corresponding theories, a robust and highly probable symmetry - breaking bifurcation cascade, with boundary conditions and parameter ranges fixed by gene product ratios and environmental factors such as spatal patterns of calcium ion concentrations. Analysing the ontogeny of several animal and plant taxa, he concludes that the taxonomic "natural kind" in evolution are the convergent (polyphiletic) rather than hereditary (based on descendence) forms as generic morphological invariances (leading to equivalence classes), in a hierarchical manner. This is perhaps the most debatable assertion of the concluding chapter, explained in terms of genetical "learning" in similar environments.
I would have liked to have an exemplary full, complete calculation of at least one or two discussed cases, i. e., to have the basic equations. Still, I can recommend the book to anybody who likes to re - examine well - known and generally accepted paradigms from a fresh point of view.
