The Taming of Evolution

The Taming of Evolution PDF Author: Davydd Greenwood
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501719939
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
No detailed description available for "The Taming of Evolution".

The Taming of Evolution

The Taming of Evolution PDF Author: Davydd Greenwood
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501719939
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
No detailed description available for "The Taming of Evolution".

The Taming of Evolution

The Taming of Evolution PDF Author: Davydd Greenwood
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501719947
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
The theory of evolution has clearly altered our views of the biological world, but in the study of human beings, evolutionary and preevolutionary views continue to coexist in a state of perpetual tension. The Taming of Evolution addresses the questions of how and why this is so. Davydd Greenwood offers a sustained critique of the nature/nurture debate, revealing the complexity of the relationship between science and ideology. He maintains that popular contemporary theories, most notably E. O. Wilson’s human sociobiology and Marvin Harris’s cultural materialism, represent pre-Darwinian notions overlaid by elaborate evolutionary terminology. Greenwood first details the humoral-environmental and Great Chain of Being theories that dominated Western thinking before Darwin. He systematically compares these ideas with those later influenced by Darwin’s theories, illuminating the surprising continuities between them. Greenwood suggests that it would be neither difficult nor socially dangerous to develop a genuinely evolutionary understanding of human beings, so long as we realized that we could not derive political and moral standards from the study of biological processes.

How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog)

How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog) PDF Author: Lee Alan Dugatkin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022659971X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Tucked away in Siberia, there are furry, four-legged creatures with wagging tails and floppy ears that are as docile and friendly as any lapdog. But, despite appearances, these are not dogs—they are foxes. They are the result of the most astonishing experiment in breeding ever undertaken—imagine speeding up thousands of years of evolution into a few decades. In 1959, biologists Dmitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut set out to do just that, by starting with a few dozen silver foxes from fox farms in the USSR and attempting to recreate the evolution of wolves into dogs in real time in order to witness the process of domestication. This is the extraordinary, untold story of this remarkable undertaking. Most accounts of the natural evolution of wolves place it over a span of about 15,000 years, but within a decade, Belyaev and Trut’s fox breeding experiments had resulted in puppy-like foxes with floppy ears, piebald spots, and curly tails. Along with these physical changes came genetic and behavioral changes, as well. The foxes were bred using selection criteria for tameness, and with each generation, they became increasingly interested in human companionship. Trut has been there the whole time, and has been the lead scientist on this work since Belyaev’s death in 1985, and with Lee Dugatkin, biologist and science writer, she tells the story of the adventure, science, politics, and love behind it all. In How to Tame a Fox, Dugatkin and Trut take us inside this path-breaking experiment in the midst of the brutal winters of Siberia to reveal how scientific history is made and continues to be made today. To date, fifty-six generations of foxes have been domesticated, and we continue to learn significant lessons from them about the genetic and behavioral evolution of domesticated animals. How to Tame a Fox offers an incredible tale of scientists at work, while also celebrating the deep attachments that have brought humans and animals together throughout time.

The 10,000 Year Explosion

The 10,000 Year Explosion PDF Author: Gregory Cochran
Publisher: Stranger Journalism
ISBN: 0465002218
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Two leading researchers make the controversial argument that the human species is still measurably evolving in important ways--in fact, faster than ever before.

The Science of Human Evolution

The Science of Human Evolution PDF Author: John H. Langdon
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319415859
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
This textbook provides a collection of case studies in paleoanthropology demonstrating the method and limitations of science. These cases introduce the reader to various problems and illustrate how they have been addressed historically. The various topics selected represent important corrections in the field, some critical breakthroughs, models of good reasoning and experimental design, and important ideas emerging from normal science.

Charles Darwin's Incomplete Revolution

Charles Darwin's Incomplete Revolution PDF Author: Richard G. Delisle
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030172031
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This book offers a thorough reanalysis of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which for many people represents the work that alone gave rise to evolutionism. Of course, scholars today know better than that. Yet, few resist the temptation of turning to the Origin in order to support it or reject it in light of their own work. Apparently, Darwin fills the mythical role of a founding figure that must either be invoked or repudiated. The book is an invitation to move beyond what is currently expected of Darwin's magnum opus. Once the rhetorical varnish of Darwin's discourses is removed, one discovers a work of remarkably indecisive conclusions. The book comprises two main theses: (1) The Origin of Species never remotely achieved the theoretical unity to which it is often credited. Rather, Darwin was overwhelmed by a host of phenomena that could not fit into his narrow conceptual framework. (2) In the Origin of Species, Darwin failed at completing the full conversion to evolutionism. Carrying many ill-designed intellectual tools of the 17th and 18th centuries, Darwin merely promoted a special brand of evolutionism, one that prevented him from taking the decisive steps toward an open and modern evolutionism. It makes an interesting read for biologists, historians and philosophers alike.

Evolution

Evolution PDF Author: Peter J. Bowler
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520236939
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
The comprehensive and authoritative source on the development and impact on one of the most controversial of scientific theories.

Energy

Energy PDF Author: Frank Niele
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 008045903X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Energy: Engine of Evolution is a compelling book that provides a compact history of energy over the last four billion years, with the aim of creating a sound basis to understanding the possible futures of the energy industry. It describes the role that energy has played in the evolution of nature and culture, the impact it has had on the world over time and the implications that we are faced with concerning the role of energy in the future. This book describes the relationship between life and energy through time, outlining how the major revolutions in the evolution of life on earth were driven by developments at the energy frontiers. Energy: Engine of Evolution states that we are on the verge of the next energy revolution, where we will learn how to master new energy forms in a new way. As a result of years of research and discussions by leading experts in the oil and gas industry, this publication offers inspiring insights and examples of new approaches to technological and evolutionary developments, paving the way towards a more sustainable future.* Provides evolutionary insight * Introduces an Energy Time Scale that shows key relationships between energy and the history of planet Earth* Contains exciting examples of new approaches to sustainable development

Spiritual Evolution

Spiritual Evolution PDF Author: John Marks Templeton
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN: 1890151165
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 147

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Book Description
These personal essays by esteemed scientists worldwide describe the spiritual journeys they have taken. Autohirs share their own experiences of learning to blend an understanding of the Divine with scientific perspectives.

Evolution and Learning

Evolution and Learning PDF Author: Bruce H. Weber
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262232296
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Essays on the contributions to historical and contemporary evolutionary theory of the Baldwin effect, which postulates the effects of learned behaviors on evolutionary change.