
Evolution in Four Dimensions
Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life
Bradford Books (Publisher)
Published on 8. September 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
480 pages
978-0-262-60069-9 (ISBN)
No shipping information available
Description
Ideas about heredity and evolution are undergoing a revolutionary change. New findings in molecular biology challenge the gene-centered version of Darwinian theory according to which adaptation occurs only through natural selection of chance DNA variations. In Evolution in Four Dimensions, Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb argue that there is more to heredity than genes. They trace four "dimensions" in evolution -- four inheritance systems that play a role in evolution: genetic, epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits), behavioral, and symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication). These systems, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act. Evolution in Four Dimensions offers a richer, more complex view of evolution than the gene-based, one-dimensional view held by many today. The new synthesis advanced by Jablonka and Lamb makes clear that induced and acquired changes also play a role in evolution. After discussing each of the four inheritance systems in detail, Jablonka and Lamb "put Humpty Dumpty together again" by showing how all of these systems interact. They consider how each may have originated and guided evolutionary history and they discuss the social and philosophical implications of the four-dimensional view of evolution. Each chapter ends with a dialogue in which the authors engage the contrarieties of the fictional (and skeptical) "I.M.," or Ifcha Mistabra -- Aramaic for "the opposite conjecture" -- refining their arguments against I.M.'s vigorous counterarguments. The lucid and accessible text is accompanied by artist-physician Anna Zeligowski's lively drawings, which humorously and effectively illustrate the authors' points.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Massachusetts
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
63 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-60069-9 (9780262600699)
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
New editions

Eva Jablonka | Marion J. Lamb
Evolution in Four Dimensions
Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life
Book
03/2014
2nd Edition
MIT Press
€47.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Additional editions

Eva Jablonka | Marion J. Lamb
Evolution in Four Dimensions
Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life
Book
05/2005
Bradford Books
€32.13
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Marion J. Lamb was Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London, before her retirement.
JoAnna M. Johnson, M.A., is a Policy Analyst for Women and Minority Services at the American Medical Association. Her research interests include discourse analysis of critical race theories, biracial identity formation, and minority healthcare disparities.
Kari Karsjens, J.D., is a licensed attorney in Illinois and works as a Research Associate for the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association. She has worked with a variety health law issues.
JoAnna M. Johnson, M.A., is a Policy Analyst for Women and Minority Services at the American Medical Association. Her research interests include discourse analysis of critical race theories, biracial identity formation, and minority healthcare disparities.
Kari Karsjens, J.D., is a licensed attorney in Illinois and works as a Research Associate for the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association. She has worked with a variety health law issues.