Making Sense of Evolution: The Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Biology (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780226668376)

Making Sense of Evolution explores contemporary evolutionary biology, focusing on the elements of theories--selection, adaptation, and species--that are complex and open to multiple possible interpretations, many of which are incompatible with one another and with other accepted practices in the discipline. Particular experimental methods, for example, may demand one understanding of "selection," while the application of the same concept to another area of evolutionary biology could necessitate a very different definition.

Spotlighting these conceptual difficulties and presenting alternate theoretical interpretations that alleviate this incompatibility, Massimo Pigliucci and Jonathan Kaplan intertwine scientific and philosophical analysis to produce a coherent picture of evolutionary biology. Innovative and controversial, Making Sense of Evolution encourages further development of the Modern Synthesis and outlines what might be necessary for the continued refinement of this evolving field.

Author: Massimo Pigliucci, Jonathan Kaplan
ISBN-10: 0226668371
ISBN-13: 9780226668376
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Language: English
Published: 11/01/2006
Pages: 236
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.02h x 6.00w x 0.64d

About the Author
Massimo Pigliucci is associate professor of ecology and evolution at Stony Brook University. Jonathan Kaplan is assistant professor of philosophy at Oregon State University.