Niche construction : how life contributes to its own evolution / John Odling-Smee.
2024
QH366.2 .O33 2024
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Online Access through The MIT Press Direct
Details
Title
Niche construction : how life contributes to its own evolution / John Odling-Smee.
ISBN
9780262378888 electronic book
0262378884 electronic book
9780262378895 electronic book
0262378892 electronic book
9780262548168 paperback
0262378884 electronic book
9780262378895 electronic book
0262378892 electronic book
9780262548168 paperback
Published
Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2024]
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (unpaged) : illustrations
Call Number
QH366.2 .O33 2024
Dewey Decimal Classification
576.8
Summary
"The modification of environments by the niche-constructing activities of organisms changes the subject matter of evolutionary theory"-- Provided by publisher.
How niche construction theory extends evolutionary theory beyond natural selection to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. In Niche Construction, John Odling-Smee, the leading authority on niche construction theory, extends evolutionary theory from an explanation of how populations of organisms respond to natural selection pressures in their environments to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. Organisms, he shows, cause changes in their local external environments by interacting with them, thereby contributing in fundamental ways to their own and one another's evolution. This book applies niche construction theory to current problems such as human-induced global warming and suggests how humans might contribute positively to the future evolution of life on Earth. Odling-Smee explains how orthodox evolutionary theory falls short in two ways. First, it does not describe how organisms contribute to their own and one another's evolution through their environment-changing niche constructing activities. Second, it fails to explain how genetic evolution can give rise to supplementary knowledge-gaining processes in many species. These include certain developmental processes in individual organisms and socio-cultural processes in animals, including humans. Neo-Darwinism, the author writes, assesses the fitness of individual organisms in populations in terms of their capacity to survive and reproduce, but without attributing these capacities to the active, purposeful agency of organisms. He argues that the purposeful agency of individual organisms plays a central role in evolution. He also discusses the relationship of an organism's energy-consuming activities and the second law of thermodynamics.
How niche construction theory extends evolutionary theory beyond natural selection to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. In Niche Construction, John Odling-Smee, the leading authority on niche construction theory, extends evolutionary theory from an explanation of how populations of organisms respond to natural selection pressures in their environments to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. Organisms, he shows, cause changes in their local external environments by interacting with them, thereby contributing in fundamental ways to their own and one another's evolution. This book applies niche construction theory to current problems such as human-induced global warming and suggests how humans might contribute positively to the future evolution of life on Earth. Odling-Smee explains how orthodox evolutionary theory falls short in two ways. First, it does not describe how organisms contribute to their own and one another's evolution through their environment-changing niche constructing activities. Second, it fails to explain how genetic evolution can give rise to supplementary knowledge-gaining processes in many species. These include certain developmental processes in individual organisms and socio-cultural processes in animals, including humans. Neo-Darwinism, the author writes, assesses the fitness of individual organisms in populations in terms of their capacity to survive and reproduce, but without attributing these capacities to the active, purposeful agency of organisms. He argues that the purposeful agency of individual organisms plays a central role in evolution. He also discusses the relationship of an organism's energy-consuming activities and the second law of thermodynamics.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on September 10, 2024).
OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.
OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.
Available in Other Form
How life contributes to its own evolution
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Online Resources > Ebooks
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Table of Contents
What is life?
Information
Adaptation
Adaptive know how in evolution
Life on any planet
The origin of life
Supplementary "knowledge-gaining" processes in evolution
The origin and evolution of ecosystems
Extending the synthesis
How are humans contributing to the evolution of life?
Information
Adaptation
Adaptive know how in evolution
Life on any planet
The origin of life
Supplementary "knowledge-gaining" processes in evolution
The origin and evolution of ecosystems
Extending the synthesis
How are humans contributing to the evolution of life?