ISBN: 0226562263
Author: Robert N. Brandon,Daniel W. McShea
Language: English
Publisher: University of Chicago Press (July 15, 2010)
Pages: 184
Category: Science & Mathematics
Subcategory: Other
Rating: 4.1
Votes: 280
Size Fb2: 1252 kb
Size ePub: 1788 kb
Size Djvu: 1477 kb
Other formats: doc txt docx mbr
Biology's First Law is an original and unusual book Simple ideas are the most difficult. In this short book Daniel McShea and Robert Brandon propose a Zero Force Evolutionary Law (ZFEL)
Biology's First Law is an original and unusual book. A hybrid of theoretical biology and philosophy of science, it addresses both conceptual and empirical problem. thought-provoking study. Samir Okasha Nature). Simple ideas are the most difficult. In this short book Daniel McShea and Robert Brandon propose a Zero Force Evolutionary Law (ZFEL). In other words, change is the steady state. This is one of those ideas that reverses figure and ground.
Daniel W Mcshea Our intent in writing this book was to present a radically different way to think about evolution
Barrett et al. (Biol Philos, 2012) present four puzzles for the ZFEL-view of evolution that we present in our 2010 book, Biology’s First Law: The Tendency for Diversity and Complexity to Increase in Evolutionary Systems. Our intent in writing this book was to present a radically different way to think about evolution. To the extent that it really is radical, it will be easy to misunderstand
Biology's First Law is an original and unusual book. To be sure, the ZFEL complements, rather than contradicts, the law of entropy.
Biology's First Law is an original and unusual book. McShea and Brandon recognize this situation in their explanation of how to paramaterize - by doing it ad hoc, with whatever characters could be useful for a given comparison - and they make this situation explanatorily relevant in their formulation of the ZFEL.
Biology's First Law: The. has been added to your Cart. Daniel W. McShea is associate professor of biology, with a secondary appointment in philosophy, and Robert N. Brandon is professor of philosophy, with a secondary appointment in biology, both at Duke University.
Biology’s First Law shows how the ZFEL can be applied to the study of diversity and complexity and examines its wider implications for biology. Intended for evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, and other scientists studying complex systems, and written in a concise and engaging format that speaks to students and interdisciplinary practitioners alike, this book will also find an appreciative audience in the philosophy of science. The ZFEL will be obvious to some, heretical to others, so the book will be controversial. But at the same time, the argument is rich enough to convince a skeptic, provided that skeptic is open-minded
Handle: RePEc:taf:mpopst:v:18:y:2011:i:4:p:258-260 DOI: 1. 080/08898480. as. HTML HTML with abstract plain text plain text with abstract BibTeX RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite) ReDIF JSON.
Leonore Fleming - 2012 - Evolutionary Biology 39 (1):94-105. Marta Bertolaso, Alessandro Giuliani & Laura De Gara - 2011 - Complexity 16 (6):10-16. Total views 1 ( of 2,246,553 ). Recent downloads (6 months) 1 ( of 2,246,553 ). How can I increase my downloads? Downloads. Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
Biology's First Law" shows how the ZFEL can be applied to the study of diversity and complexity and examines its wider implications for biology
Biology's First Law" shows how the ZFEL can be applied to the study of diversity and complexity and examines its wider implications for biology.
The Zero-Force Evolutionary Law, or ZFEL, is a theory proposed by Robert Brandon and Dan McShea regarding the evolution of diversity and complexity. Brandon and McShea define diversity and complexity in terms of variation, diversity being variation between organisms and complexity being variation among parts within an organism
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 Evolutionary Law, or ZFEL. This law unifies the principles and data of biology under a single framework and invites a reconceptualization of the field of the same sort that Newton’s First Law brought to physics.
Biology’s First Law shows how the ZFEL can be applied to the study of diversity and complexity and examines its wider implications for biology. Intended for evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, and other scientists studying complex systems, and written in a concise and engaging format that speaks to students and interdisciplinary practitioners alike, this book will also find an appreciative audience in the philosophy of science.
Comments: