The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780674006133)

The world's most revered and eloquent interpreter of evolutionary ideas offers here a work of explanatory force unprecedented in our time--a landmark publication, both for its historical sweep and for its scientific vision.

With characteristic attention to detail, Stephen Jay Gould first describes the content and discusses the history and origins of the three core commitments of classical Darwinism: that natural selection works on organisms, not genes or species; that it is almost exclusively the mechanism of adaptive evolutionary change; and that these changes are incremental, not drastic. Next, he examines the three critiques that currently challenge this classic Darwinian edifice: that selection operates on multiple levels, from the gene to the group; that evolution proceeds by a variety of mechanisms, not just natural selection; and that causes operating at broader scales, including catastrophes, have figured prominently in the course of evolution.

Then, in a stunning tour de force that will likely stimulate discussion and debate for decades, Gould proposes his own system for integrating these classical commitments and contemporary critiques into a new structure of evolutionary thought.

In 2001 the Library of Congress named Stephen Jay Gould one of America's eighty-three Living Legends--people who embody the "quintessentially American ideal of individual creativity, conviction, dedication, and exuberance." Each of these qualities finds full expression in this peerless work, the likes of which the scientific world has not seen--and may not see again--for well over a century.

Author: Stephen Jay Gould
ISBN-10: 0674006135
ISBN-13: 9780674006133
Publisher: Belknap Press
Language: English
Published: 03/21/2002
Pages: 1464
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 5.10lbs
Size: 10.25h x 7.00w x 2.75d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 12/15/2001 pg. 682
Publishers Weekly 02/11/2002 pg. 178
Library Journal 02/15/2002 pg. 174
New York Times 03/17/2002 pg. 11
New York Review of Books 05/23/2002 pg. 52
New Yorker (The) 09/30/2002 pg. 132
Choice 07/01/2002 pg. 1985