| Description |
1 online resource |
| Series |
History and philosophy of biology |
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History and philosophy of biology (Routledge (Firm))
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| Contents |
Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1 Basic evolutionary concepts; Adaptation, fitness; And dandelions; Chance and basketball; Types and individuals; Selection; The original recipe; Systemic advantage of a type; Populations; Collections of individuals; Traits and types; Evolutionary processes; In general; The bias; Processes in population genetics; Selection as process; The environment; Selection vs. drift; Chance and lightning; Discriminate vs. indiscriminate; Fixation in the population via drifty discriminate sampling; Expected and unexpected |
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Expecting the unexpectedProcess vs. outcome; Bibliography; 2 The history of the evolutionary idea; Pausing for context; Darwin; Variation and heredity; Selection; What evolves; Darwin's evolutionary processes; Fisher; Evolution: selection vs. mutation; Fisher and fitness; Heredity, mutation, and genes; Adaptation and heredity; Lewontin; The definition of evolution by natural selection; Segregation distortion and multilevel selection; Individual fitness and group fitness; Sober; Evolutionary forces; Fitness: early Sober and Fisher compared; The neodynamical account; Bibliography |
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3 Evolutionary forcesFrom process to force; The causal hierarchy; Functions of time and continuity; Causal variables vs. processes; Force models; The three basic types of evolutionary force; Formalisms; Selection; Broad selection; Heredity and evolution by natural selection; The force of selection and empirical measures; Drift; Selection for traits and context dependence; Types of drift; Illustrative example; Bibliography; 4 Multilevel selection; Individuality; The evolutionary transitions from individual to part; Fungi and biological individuals; Interactions; Kin selection |
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Multilevel selection a la LewontinMLS 1, MLS 2, and contextual analysis; Contextual analysis and mus muscula; Three kinds of multilevel evolutionary models; More distinctions? yes indeed; Multilevel fitness models; Multilevel force models; Multilevel trait models; Bibliography; 5 Evolution in the social sciences; Challenges; The specter of biologism; The problem with replicators; Cultural traits; Reproduction in cultural evolution; Processes; Boyd and Richerson; Looking at a model: farming practices; Lamarck and technological evolution; Novelty and guided variation (in evolutionary economics) |
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ApplicationThis could be important; For example in sociology; Bibliography; 6 Multilevel social evolution; Concepts; Human groups and cultural individuals; Altruism in human societies; An extended illustration; Turchin on the historical evolution of egalitarianism; Critique; An alternative, multilevel approach; A model of multilevel cultural macroevolution; Developing the schema; Evaluating and adjusting; Specifying and analysing; Concluding thoughts; Bibliography; Index |
| Summary |
Evolution by natural selection explains the tree of life and the complex adaptations found throughout nature. The power and versatility of evolutionary explanations have proved tempting to scientists outside of biology, but adapting evolutionary concepts to new domains has been challenging. Even within biology, there are many difficult questions and problem cases that face evolutionary theory. Modelling Evolution offers a new, general account of evolution by natural selection that identifies the essential features of evolutionary models that transcend any particular discipline. Evolution by natural selection in its broad sense is the systemic advantage of a type, in contrast to the narrow definition using heritable variation in fitness. This account is explained, contextualised and applied to a variety of questions in both biology and the social sciences. Offering an accessible and comprehensive account of evolution that is applicable both to biology and the broader social sciences, Modelling Evolution will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as biology, economics, sociology, history, and psychology |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Description based on print version record |
| Subject |
Evolution (Biology)
|
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Natural selection.
|
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SCIENCE -- Life Sciences -- Evolution.
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Evolution (Biology)
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Natural selection
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2020691907 |
| ISBN |
9781315294032 |
|
1315294036 |
|
9781315294056 |
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1315294052 |
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