After two centuries of intensive scientific effort, we now have the luxury of a theory that provides a general explanation for that richness, often in quite considerable detail. That theory is Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin's theory is famous for two reasons. One is that it is the second most successful theory in the history of science (after quantum theory in physics) in terms of its ability both to explain what we see in the natural world and to stimulate new ideas and research that have uncovered rich seams of novel findings. The second has been its ability, as a theory, to provide a unifying framework for a disparate array of disciplines that do not always see themselves as natural allies. That array includes not just the various life sciences (ecology, genetics, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and animal behaviour), but also "hard" sciences like chemistry, the softer sciences like medicine, sociology, anthropology and economics, and even the humanities. History, linguistics, literature - all fall under the purview of evolutionary theory." --
Record details
ISBN:9780190922887
ISBN:0190922885
Physical Description:print ix, 273 pages ; 22 cm
Publisher:New York, NY :Oxford University Press,[2020]
Machine generated contents note: 1. Evolution and Natural Selection -- 1. Why do we need a theory of evolution? -- 2. So who discovered evolution? -- 3. How did Darwin's theory change our understanding of evolution? -- 4. What was Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection? -- 5. What evidence did Darwin have to support his theory? -- 6. In that case, why did Darwin propose a second theory, the theory of sexual selection? -- 7. What evidence do we now have to support Darwin's theory? -- 8. But isn't the theory of evolution just a theory? -- 9. Then why did so many people not believe Darwin? -- 10. Why is it important to ask why? -- 2. Evolution and Adaptation -- 11. How do species adapt to their environments? -- 12. How do we recognize adaptations? -- 13. How do new traits arise? -- 14. Is mimicry an adaptation? -- 15. What do vestigial organs tell us about evolution? -- 16. How fast does evolution happen? -- 17. How does climate influence evolutionary change? -- 18. Is perfection the inevitable outcome of evolution? -- 19. Why do some biological features seem to be poorly designed? -- 20. Why do we sometimes fall prey to genuinely destructive addictions? -- 3. Evolution and Genetics -- 21. Why was the discovery of genetics so important for our understanding of evolution? -- 22. What are Mendel's laws of inheritance? -- 23. What is the "modern synthesis"? -- 24. How did the discovery of DNA change our understanding of the genetic mechanism in evolution? -- 25. What is genetic fitness? -- 26. Are genes really selfish? -- 27. But how do animals know who their kin are? -- 28. Are there other kinds of biological transmission besides DNA? -- 29. Can evolution happen in the absence of selection? -- 30. What is the molecular clock? -- 4. Evolution of Life -- 31. Can we say how life on earth started? -- 32. How did life on earth as we know it evolve from these very primitive conditions? -- 33. Why do bacteria and viruses evolve so fast? -- 34. Why did multicellular organisms evolve? -- 35. What is symbiosis? -- 36. What symbionts are important for us? -- 37. When is an individual a cell, an individual, or a colony? -- 38. So am I an individual or a colony? -- 39. Why don't we live forever? -- 40. Even if evolution is true, why should a theory of evolution be relevant for us today? -- 5. Evolution of Species -- 41. What is a species? -- 42. Why are species sometimes difficult to define? -- 43. How do new species arise? -- 44. Why do genetics and anatomy sometimes disagree about evolutionary history? -- 45. Why do species go extinct? -- 46. How many mass extinction events have there been? -- 47. Did the dinosaurs really go extinct? -- 48. Have humans ever been responsible for extinctions? -- 49. Can species rise from the dead? -- 50. Does a species' genetic diversity matter? -- 6. Evolution of Complexity -- 51. Why do some species eat others? -- 52. In what ways do plants and animals exploit each other? -- 53. What is a food web? -- 54. Do ecosystems evolve? -- 55. Does it matter if we upset the "balance of nature"? -- 56. Why did sexual reproduction evolve? -- 57. How are the two sexes determined? -- 58. Do all organisms determine their sexes in the same way? -- 59. Why is there a trade-off between reproduction and parental solicitude? -- 60. Why does the nature/nurture controversy continue to bedevil discussion? -- 7. Evolution of Humans -- 61. Who were our earliest ancestors? -- 62. Who were the Neanderthals? -- 63. Why did the Neanderthals have such big eyes? -- 64. Why did the Neanderthals go extinct? -- 65. Is it true that we all have Neanderthal genes? -- 66. Why did only one species from our entire lineage survive? -- 67. What has molecular genetics been able to tell us about our recent history? -- 68. Are racial differences adaptive? -- 69. Why are humans the only species with language? -- 70. Are humans still evolving? -- 8. Evolution of Behavior -- 71. What role does behavior play in evolution? -- 72. How can we explain the evolution of altruism? -- 73. Why has cooperation evolved? -- 74. Does whom we marry matter to evolution? -- 75. Are humans really monogamous? -- 76. Are conflicts of interests inevitable in evolution? -- 77. Are there sex differences in behavior? -- 78. Why do mating systems differ between species? -- 79. Is human behavior always adaptive? -- 80. Doesn't the theory of evolution imply that there is no such thing as free will? -- 9. Evolution of Sociality -- 81. Why do some animals live in groups? -- 82. Why can't groups become infinitely large? -- 83. How do large groups avoid the public goods dilemma? -- 84. What's so complicated about social life? -- 85. Why do some animals have very large brains? -- 86. How do animals bond their groups? -- 87. So how do humans bond their much larger groups? -- 88. How can we explain the evolution of deception? -- 89. How have primate societies evolved? -- 90. Have human societies evolved? -- 10. Evolution of Culture -- 91. Does culture evolve? -- 92. Why are human cultures so different? -- 93. Why have so many different languages evolved? -- 94. Does any species besides humans have culture? -- 95. Why do only humans have "high culture"? -- 96. When and why did music evolve? -- 97. Did religion evolve? -- 98. Will the internet change the course of human evolution? -- 99. Does the theory of evolution have implications for disciplines outside biology? -- 100. So why do people still misunderstand the theory of evolution?.
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