A radical and challenging book that turns current thinking about evolution on its head. Keth Skene, a former Rhodes Scholar and an evolutionary ecologist, presents a completely new approach to our understanding of how and why life evolved in the way that it did, and why the Biosphere functions in the way that it does. The most popular theroy at present focuses on the gene as the unit of selection upon which natural selection acts. However much of the Biosphere has little to do with the gene, such as the biomes, communities, and, to a large extent, populations. Processes such as succession and speciation patterns through time are also largely independent of genetic impact. The drivers here are completely different. So instead of focusing on a single unit of selection, we view the Biosphere as being made up of a number of levels of organization, acted upon by a single agent of organization. This is a very different approach, and provides a much better explanation of all of the biology that we see. So what is this agent? Darwinian thinking was based upon biology, while neo-Drwinism and Gaian theory rely on chemistry. This book is built on a much more fundamental basis, physics. He argues that since physics is the foundation for understanding everything else, then surely we should base our theory of evolution on it, rather than on the shadows of chemistry and biology. Armed with this new approach, Skene then applies it to understanding how we should confront the serious challenges facing our planet at present. The answer is not carbon!

The book combines philosophy, history and science, approaching some of the key questions that all of us ask in a fresh way, lucidly illustrated with colourful, amusing analogies and scientific evidence. This is the new Origin of Species, and is a must buy for anyone interested in evolution, climate change, conservation biology and why we are all here in the first place.

Clive Cookson of the Financial Times wrote "Keith Skene has come up with an original re-interpretation of evolution - and the role played by energy in living systems - which he presents in a very readable way".

From the Back Cover

A radical and challenging book that turns current thinking about evolution on its head. Keith Skene, a former Rhodes Scholar and an evolutionary ecologist, presents a completely new approach to our understanding of how and why life evolved in the way that it did, and why the Biosphere functions in the way that it does. Darwinism was based on biology, while neo-Darwinism and Gaian theory rely on chemistry. This book is built on a much more fundamental basis, physics. He argues that since physics is the foundation for understanding everything else, then surely we should base our theory of evolution on it, rather than on the shadows of chemistry and biology.
Armed with this new approach, Skene then applies it to understand how we should face the serious challenges facing our planet at present. The answer is not carbon!

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