Ernst Mayr

What Makes Biology Unique?

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This book, a collection of essays written by the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the twentieth century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Natural selection is a separate idea from common descent, and from geographic speciation, and so on. A number of the perennial Darwinian controversies may well have been caused by the confounding of the five separate theories into a single composite. Those interested in evolutionary theory, or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 248
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. April 2022
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 18mm
• Gewicht: 482g
• ISBN-13: 9780521841146
• ISBN-10: 0521841143
• Artikelnr.: 12947145

Autorenporträt

Ernst Mayr (1904-2005) was Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. For his contributions as an evolutionary biologist, taxonomist, ornithologist, as well as historian and philosopher of biology, Mayr was hailed as 'the Darwin of the 20th century'.

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction; 1. Science and sciences; 2. The autonomy of biology; 3. Teleology; 4. Analysis or reductionism; 5. Darwin's influence on modern thought; 6. Darwin's five theories of evolution; 7. Maturation of Darwinism; 8. Selection; 9. Do Thomas Kuhn's scientific revolutions take place?; 10. Another look at the species problem; 11. The origin of human; 12. Are we alone in this vast universe?

Rezensionen

'In this first book of the second century of his long career, the biologist Ernst Mayr at age 100 has given us his reflections on the most interesting and important questions about life: why living things can't be understood just as very complex machines, how humans evolved, why we haven't yet communicated with any extraterrestrials, and others. Written with a clarity and vigor that shine from every page, this book is best summarized in one word: exciting!' Jared Diamond, UCLA, author of Guns, Germs and Steel (Pulitzer Prize, 1998)