Cambridge University Press has published a new book by Richard Burian, The
Epistemology of Development, Evolution, and Genetics, in its series, "Cambridge
Studies in Philosophy and Biology." This book is available in paperback,
hardback, and a digital edition. The book consists of eleven of Burian's
essays, four of them previously unpublished, plus a general introduction and
short introductions to the four sections of the book, which are on
methodological issues, evolution, genetics and molecular biology, and
development. The book is available from Cambridge University Press and all of
the usual on-line bookstores.
The Epistemology of Development, Evolution,
and Genetics
Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and
Biology
By Richard M. Burian
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University
Paperback ISBN-10: 0521545285 | Hardback ISBN-13:
9780521545280
Also available as a digital book
List Price for the paperback, $32.99.
The essays in this collection examine developments in three fundamental
biological disciplines--embryology, evolutionary biology, and
genetics--in conflict with each other for much of the twentieth century.
They consider key methodological problems and the difficulty of
overcoming them. Richard Burian interweaves historical appreciation of
the settings within which scientists work, substantial knowledge of the
biological problems at stake, and the methodological and philosophical
issues faced in integrating biological knowledge drawn from disparate
sources.
Contents
1. General introduction;
Part I. Methodological Issues
- 2. How the choice of experimental organism matters;
- 3. Unification and coherence as methodological objectives in the
biological sciences
Part II. Evolution
- 4. "Adaptation"
- 5. The influence of the evolutionary paradigm
- 6. "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"
(Theodosius Dobzhansky)
Part III. Genetics and Molecular Biology
- 7. On conceptual change in biology
- 8. Technique, task definition, and the transition from genetics to
molecular genetics
- 9. Too many kinds of genes
Part IV. Development
- 10. Lillie's paradox - or, some hazards of cellular geography
- 11. On conflicts between genetic and developmental viewpoints
- 12. Reconceiving animals and their
evolution.
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