The Role of Behavior in Evolution

The Role of Behavior in Evolution PDF Author: Henry C. Plotkin
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262161077
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
These six original essays focus on a potentially important aspect of evolutionary biology, the possible causal role of phenotypic behavior in evolution. Balancing theory with actual or potential empiricism, they provide the first full examination of this topic. Plotkin's opening chapter outlines the "conceptual minefields" that the contributors attempt to negotiate: What is an adequate theory of evolution? What is behavior and is it possible to maintain a distinction between behavior and other attributes of the phenotype? is all, or only a special subset, of behavior both a cause and a consequence of evolution? And what do the theoretical issues mean in empirical terms? He concludes that any attempt to understand the causal role of behavior in evolution requires a more complicated theoretical structure than that of orthodox neoDarwinism, a conceptualization of behavior as a distinctive set of phenotypic attributes, and the accumulation of more data. David L. Hull (Northwestern University) provides an alternative account of the evolutionary process by developing a hierarchy of replicators-interactors-lineages to replace the traditional one of genes-organisms-species. Robert N. Brandon (Duke University) also posits hierarchy as an appropriate architecture for the theoretical complexity needed to support an examination of the role of behavior in evolution. F. J. Odling-Smee (Brunei University) outlines a theoretical structure to encompass the behavior of phenotypes, concentrating on the unrestricted definition of behavior (everything that an animal does). The remaining chapters are as much concerned with evidence as with theory. Plotkin concentrates on a restricted definition of behavior (behavior that is a product of choosing intelligence), reviewing our empirical knowledge of how learning might influence evolution. R.I.M. Dunbar (University College, London) uses empirical studies of vertebrate social behavior to deal with the question of how the social systems, especially of primates, might have a causal role in species evolution. A Bradford Book

The Role of Behavior in Evolution

The Role of Behavior in Evolution PDF Author: Henry C. Plotkin
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262161077
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Get Book Here

Book Description
These six original essays focus on a potentially important aspect of evolutionary biology, the possible causal role of phenotypic behavior in evolution. Balancing theory with actual or potential empiricism, they provide the first full examination of this topic. Plotkin's opening chapter outlines the "conceptual minefields" that the contributors attempt to negotiate: What is an adequate theory of evolution? What is behavior and is it possible to maintain a distinction between behavior and other attributes of the phenotype? is all, or only a special subset, of behavior both a cause and a consequence of evolution? And what do the theoretical issues mean in empirical terms? He concludes that any attempt to understand the causal role of behavior in evolution requires a more complicated theoretical structure than that of orthodox neoDarwinism, a conceptualization of behavior as a distinctive set of phenotypic attributes, and the accumulation of more data. David L. Hull (Northwestern University) provides an alternative account of the evolutionary process by developing a hierarchy of replicators-interactors-lineages to replace the traditional one of genes-organisms-species. Robert N. Brandon (Duke University) also posits hierarchy as an appropriate architecture for the theoretical complexity needed to support an examination of the role of behavior in evolution. F. J. Odling-Smee (Brunei University) outlines a theoretical structure to encompass the behavior of phenotypes, concentrating on the unrestricted definition of behavior (everything that an animal does). The remaining chapters are as much concerned with evidence as with theory. Plotkin concentrates on a restricted definition of behavior (behavior that is a product of choosing intelligence), reviewing our empirical knowledge of how learning might influence evolution. R.I.M. Dunbar (University College, London) uses empirical studies of vertebrate social behavior to deal with the question of how the social systems, especially of primates, might have a causal role in species evolution. A Bradford Book

Behaviour, Development and Evolution

Behaviour, Development and Evolution PDF Author: Patrick Bateson
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1783742518
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
The role of parents in shaping the characters of their children, the causes of violence and crime, and the roots of personal unhappiness are central to humanity. Like so many fundamental questions about human existence, these issues all relate to behavioural development. In this lucid and accessible book, eminent biologist Professor Sir Patrick Bateson suggests that the nature/nurture dichotomy we often use to think about questions of development in both humans and animals is misleading. Instead, he argues that we should pay attention to whole systems, rather than to simple causes, when trying to understand the complexity of development. In his wide-ranging approach Bateson discusses why so much behaviour appears to be well-designed. He explores issues such as ‘imprinting’ and its importance to the attachment of offspring to their parents; the mutual benefits that characterise communication between parent and offspring; the importance of play in learning how to choose and control the optimal conditions in which to thrive; and the vital function of adaptability in the interplay between development and evolution. Bateson disputes the idea that a simple link can be found between genetics and behaviour. What an individual human or animal does in its life depends on the reciprocal nature of its relationships with the world about it. This knowledge also points to ways in which an animal’s own behaviour can provide the variation that influences the subsequent course of evolution. This has relevance not only for our scientific approaches to the systems of development and evolution, but also on how humans change institutional rules that have become dysfunctional, or design public health measures when mismatches occur between themselves and their environments. It affects how we think about ourselves and our own capacity for change.

Behaviour and Evolution

Behaviour and Evolution PDF Author: Jean Piaget
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135658129
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
This book was first published in 1979.

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior PDF Author: Peter B. Gray
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674074394
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Few things come more naturally to us than sex—or so it would seem. Yet to a chimpanzee, the sexual practices and customs we take for granted would appear odd indeed. He or she might wonder why we bother with inconveniences like clothes, why we prefer to make love on a bed, and why we fuss so needlessly over privacy. Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior invites us into the thought-experiment of imagining human sex from the vantage point of our primate cousins, in order to underscore the role of evolution in shaping all that happens, biologically and behaviorally, when romantic passions are aroused. Peter Gray and Justin Garcia provide an interdisciplinary synthesis that draws on the latest discoveries in evolutionary theory, genetics, neuroscience, comparative primate research, and cross-cultural sexuality studies. They are our guides through an exploration of the patterns and variations that exist in human sexuality, in chapters covering topics ranging from the evolution of sex differences and reproductive physiology to the origins of sexual play, monogamous unions, and the facts and fictions surrounding orgasm. Intended for generally curious readers of all stripes, this up-to-date, one-volume survey of the evolutionary science of human sexual behavior explains why sexuality has remained a core fascination of human beings throughout time and across cultures.

Evolution of Human Behavior

Evolution of Human Behavior PDF Author: Agustin Fuentes
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195333596
Category : Behavior evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Author Agustin Fuentes incorporates recent innovations in evolutionary theory with emerging perspectives from genomic approaches, the current fossil record, and ethnographic studies. He examines basic assumptions about why humans behave as they do, the facts of human evolution, patterns of evolutionary change in a global environmental-temporal context, and the interconnected roles of cooperation and conflict in human history. The net result is a text that moves toward a more holistic understanding of the patterns of human evolution and a more integrated perspective on the evolution of human behavior."--BOOK JACKET.

The Behavior of Animals

The Behavior of Animals PDF Author: Johan J. Bolhuis
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119109507
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
The Behavior of Animals An updated view of animal behavior studies, featuring global experts The Behavior of Animals, Second Edition provides a broad overview of the current state of animal behavior studies with contributions from international experts. This edition includes new chapters on hormones and behavior, individuality, and human evolution. All chapters have been thoroughly revised and updated, and are supported by color illustrations, informative callouts, and accessible presentation of technical information. Provides an introduction to the study of animal behavior Looks at an extensive scope of topics- from perception, motivation and emotion, biological rhythms, and animal learning to animal cognition, communication, mate choice, and individuality. Explores the evolution of animal behavior including a critical evaluation of the assumption that human beings can be studied as if they were any other animal species. Students will benefit from an updated textbook in which a variety of contributors provide their expertise and global perspective in specialized areas

Evolution and Human Behavior

Evolution and Human Behavior PDF Author: John Cartwright
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262531702
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
The book covers fundamental issues such as the origins and function of sexual reproduction, mating behavior, human mate choice, patterns of violence in families, altruistic behavior, the evolution of brain size and the origins of language, the modular mind, and the relationship between genes and culture.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology PDF Author: Matthew Rossano
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
Written in a lively and engaging manner, this new work places evolutionary psychology within the broad sweep of our primate heritage and the full scope of our evolutionary story. Beginning with the basics of evolution, the book first unpacks the far-ranging saga of human evolution, then moves on to examine motor behavior and emotions, sexual behavior and mate selection, and higher cognition.

Evolution Driven by Organismal Behavior

Evolution Driven by Organismal Behavior PDF Author: Rui Diogo
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319475819
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This book proposes a new way to think about evolution. The author carefully brings together evidence from diverse fields of science. In the process, he bridges the gaps between many different--and usually seen as conflicting--ideas to present one integrative theory named ONCE, which stands for Organic Nonoptimal Constrained Evolution. The author argues that evolution is mainly driven by the behavioral choices and persistence of organisms themselves, in a process in which Darwinian natural selection is mainly a secondary--but still crucial--evolutionary player. Within ONCE, evolution is therefore generally made of mistakes and mismatches and trial-and-error situations, and is not a process where organisms engage in an incessant, suffocating struggle in which they can't thrive if they are not optimally adapted to their habitats and the external environment. Therefore, this unifying view incorporates a more comprehensive view of the diversity and complexity of life by stressing that organisms are not merely passive evolutionary players under the rule of external factors. This insightful and well-reasoned argument is based on numerous fascinating case studies from a wide range of organisms, including bacteria, plants, insects and diverse examples from the evolution of our own species. The book has an appeal to researchers, students, teachers, and those with an interest in the history and philosophy of science, as well as to the broader public, as it brings life back into biology by emphasizing that organisms, including humans, are the key active players in evolution and thus in the future of life on this wonderful planet.

Evolution and Contextual Behavioral Science

Evolution and Contextual Behavioral Science PDF Author: David Sloan Wilson
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
ISBN: 1626259151
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 577

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Book Description
What do evolutionary science and contextual behavioral science have in common? Edited by David Sloan Wilson and Steven C. Hayes, this groundbreaking book offers a glimpse into the histories of these two schools of thought, and provides a sound rationale for their reintegration. Evolutionary science (ES) provides a unifying theoretical framework for the biological sciences, and is increasingly being applied to the human-related sciences. Meanwhile, contextual behavioral science (CBS) seeks to understand the history and function of human behavior in the context of everyday life where behaviors occur, and to influence behavior in a practical sense. This volume seeks to integrate these two bodies of knowledge that have developed largely independently. In Evolution and Contextual Behavioral Science, two renowned experts in their fields argue why ES and CBS are intrinsically linked, as well as why their reintegration—or, reunification—is essential. The main purpose of this book is to continue to move CBS under the umbrella of ES, and to help evolutionary scientists understand how working alongside contextual behavioral scientists can foster both the development of ES principles and their application to practical situations. Rather than the sequential relationship that is typically imagined between these two schools of thought, this volume envisions a parallel relationship between ES and CBS, where science can best influence positive change in the real world.