The Structure of Evolutionary Theory

Stephen Jay Gould

ISBN 10: 0674006135 / ISBN 13: 9780674006133

Published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA / London, England, 2002

About this Item

xxii + 1433 pp, First Edition . First Printing, Chapter 1: Defining and Revising the Structure of Evolutionary Theory; Part I, Chapters 2 -7, The History of ?Darwinian Logic and Debate; Segue to Part II. Part II, Chapters 8-12, Expanded Table of contents 14 pages in hierarchical outline, Towards a Revised and Expanded Evolutionary Theory; Bibliography, Illustration Credits (at least 200 b&w illustrations), Index. TExt with extensive footnotes and references. Fr bottom edge of textblock with faint shelf-wear, else unblemished. 6.75" x 10.25" gray cloth boards x 2.9" thick, with gilt spine letters on black inlay, in pale (near white) illustrated DJ with protector. Weighs 5.25 pounds. Size: Thick Quarto. Seller Inventory # 003329

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Structure of Evolutionary Theory

Publisher: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA / London, England

Publication Date: 2002

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Edition: First Edition.

Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis:

The world's most revered and eloquent interpreter of evolutionary ideas offers here a work of explanatory force unprecedented in our time--a landmark publication, both for its historical sweep and for its scientific vision.

With characteristic attention to detail, Stephen Jay Gould first describes the content and discusses the history and origins of the three core commitments of classical Darwinism: that natural selection works on organisms, not genes or species; that it is almost exclusively the mechanism of adaptive evolutionary change; and that these changes are incremental, not drastic. Next, he examines the three critiques that currently challenge this classic Darwinian edifice: that selection operates on multiple levels, from the gene to the group; that evolution proceeds by a variety of mechanisms, not just natural selection; and that causes operating at broader scales, including catastrophes, have figured prominently in the course of evolution.

Then, in a stunning tour de force that will likely stimulate discussion and debate for decades, Gould proposes his own system for integrating these classical commitments and contemporary critiques into a new structure of evolutionary thought.

In 2001 the Library of Congress named Stephen Jay Gould one of America's eighty-three Living Legends--people who embody the "quintessentially American ideal of individual creativity, conviction, dedication, and exuberance." Each of these qualities finds full expression in this peerless work, the likes of which the scientific world has not seen--and may not see again--for well over a century.

About the Author:

Stephen Jay Gould was Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University and Vincent Astor Visiting Professor of Biology at New York University. A MacArthur Prize Fellow, he received innumerable honors and awards and wrote many books, including Ontogeny and Phylogeny and Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle (both from Harvard).