
Unfinished Synthesis
Biological Hierarchies and Modern Evolutionary Thought
Niles Eldredge(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 6. February 1986
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-19-503633-6 (ISBN)
Description
This provocative study provides a stimulating critique of contemporary evolutionary thought, analysing the Modern Synthesis first developed by Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ernst Mayr, and George Gaylord Simpson.
Written by an eminent evolutionary biologist (the co-founder of the theory of punctuated equilibria), this highly readable book argues that only genes and organisms are taken as historic 'individuals' in conventional theory. Eldredge proposes that species, higher taxa, and ecological entities such as populations and communities should also be construed as individuals - an approach yielding the ecological and genealogical hierarchies that interact to produce evolution.
This clearly stated, controversial work will provoke much debate among evolutionary biologists, systematicists, palaeontologists and ecologists, as well as lay readers.
Written by an eminent evolutionary biologist (the co-founder of the theory of punctuated equilibria), this highly readable book argues that only genes and organisms are taken as historic 'individuals' in conventional theory. Eldredge proposes that species, higher taxa, and ecological entities such as populations and communities should also be construed as individuals - an approach yielding the ecological and genealogical hierarchies that interact to produce evolution.
This clearly stated, controversial work will provoke much debate among evolutionary biologists, systematicists, palaeontologists and ecologists, as well as lay readers.
Reviews / Votes
'Interesting and provocative...A must for those with a genuine interest in the processes of evolution.' Choice 'Eldredge - the invertebrate palaeontologist renowned for his role in developing the theory of punctuated equilibria and the epistemological approach to phylogenetic pattern recognition known as cladistics - now gives us...one of the more important challenges to the neo-Darwinian evolutionary synthesis...This is a must for anyone, of any persuasion, interested in evolutionary theory.' Science Books and FilmsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
numerous figures and tables
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
559 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-503633-6 (9780195036336)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/1985
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€60.49
Available for download
Person
Content
1: Approaching Complexity: Thinking About Evolution
2: Genes and the Evolutionary Synthesis
3: Systematics, Paleontology, and the Modern Synthesis
4: The Structure and Content of the Modern Synthesis
5: Toward Hierarchy: Trends and Tensions in Evolutionary Theory
6: The Evolutionary Hierarchies
7: Hierarchic Interactions: The Evolutionary Process
References
Index
2: Genes and the Evolutionary Synthesis
3: Systematics, Paleontology, and the Modern Synthesis
4: The Structure and Content of the Modern Synthesis
5: Toward Hierarchy: Trends and Tensions in Evolutionary Theory
6: The Evolutionary Hierarchies
7: Hierarchic Interactions: The Evolutionary Process
References
Index