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Adaptationism and Optimality

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Adaptationism and Optimality Synopsis

The debate over the relative importance of natural selection as compared to other forces affecting the evolution of organisms is a long-standing and central controversy in evolutionary biology. The theory of adaptationism argues that natural selection contains sufficient explanatory power in itself to account for all evolution. However, there are differing views about the efficiency of the adaptation model of explanation. If the adaptationism theory is applied, are energy and resources being used to their optimum? This book presents an up-to-date view of this controversy and reflects the dramatic changes in our understanding of evolution that have occurred in the last twenty years. The volume combines contributions from biologists and philosophers, and offers a systematic treatment of foundational, conceptual, and methodological issues surrounding the theory of adaptationism. The essays examine recent developments in topics such as phylogenetic analysis, the theory of optimality and ess models, and methods of testing models.

About This Edition

ISBN: 9780521591669
Publication date:
Author: Steven Hecht The Fresh Pond Research Institute, Cambridge, MA Orzack
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Format: Hardback
Pagination: 420 pages
Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology
Genres: Philosophy of science
Biology, life sciences