Evolution's Eye: A Systems View of the Biology-Culture Divide (Science & Cultural Theory) (Science and Cultural Theory) - Hardcover

Oyama, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0822324369 ISBN 13: 9780822324362

Publisher: Duke University Press, 2000

Synopsis

In recent decades, Susan Oyama and her colleagues in the burgeoning field of developmental systems theory have rejected the determinism inherent in the nature/nurture debate, arguing that behavior cannot be reduced to distinct biological or environmental causes. In Evolution's Eye Oyama elaborates on her pioneering work on developmental systems by spelling out that work's implications for the fields of evolutionary theory, developmental and social psychology, feminism, and epistemology. Her approach profoundly alters our understanding of the biological processes of development and evolution and the interrelationships between them. While acknowledging that, in an uncertain world, it is easy to "blame it on the genes," Oyama claims that the renewed trend toward genetic determinism colors the way we think about everything from human evolution to sexual orientation and personal responsibility. She presents instead a view that focuses on how a wide variety of developmental factors interact in the multileveled developmental systems that give rise to organisms. Shifting attention away from genes and the environment as causes for behavior, she convincingly shows the benefits that come from thinking about life processes in terms of developmental systems that produce, sustain, and change living beings over both developmental and evolutionary time. Providing a genuine alternative to genetic and environmental determinism, as well as to unsuccessful compromises with which others have tried to replace them, Evolution's Eye will fascinate students and scholars who work in the fields of evolution, psychology, human biology, and philosophy of science. Feminists and others who seek a more complex view of human nature will find her work especially congenial.

About this title

Review:

"Oyama's proposal of developmental systems as the main agents of evolutionary process is worthy of reflection and further scrutiny."
--Boguslaw Pawlowski," Journal of Biosocial Science"

""Evolution's Eye" makes a number of . . . concepts widely available for inspection, and as such is a most welcome contribution to the literature on evolution and development."
--Jason Scott Robert, "Biology and Philosophy"

"[Oyama] offer[s] a wealth of thinking and argument that takes us beyond damaging dichotomies and views of organisms, to a fuller understanding of behavioral transmission and how we might better go about studying it."
--T. M. Freeberg, "Ethology"

"Oyama argues elegantly and provides myriad examples to illustrate the lack of an appreciation for the reciprocal relationship that exists between genetics and the environment. . . . Recommended for graduate students, researchers, and faculty seeking a fresh approach to this issue."
--M. Pilati, "Choice"

""Evolution's Eye" is a book that should be read and reread by every biologist interested in the conceptual basis of her discipline. . . . [A] brilliant and eloquently written (Oyama's hallmark) continuation of the promising project that was initiated with ["Ontogeny of Information],""
--Pieter Lemmens, "Acta Biotheoretica"

"[A] subtle . . . study of recent concepts in biology and social science. . . . [Oyama] wants to think--and to get us to think--about how culture, environment and genetic programming are constantly 'talking to' one another, and how it's their interaction that creates us. It's a worthy goal, and one her book should advance."
--Publishers Weekly

“Oyama writes elegantly and from a deep intellectual base. This alternative view to the dominant genetic determinism will be of interest to all who seek a more complex view of human nature. It is an excellent book, beautifully composed.”—Katherine Nelson, City University of New York

“Susan Oyama's "Ontogeny of Information" provided a navigational chart for researchers seeking to avoid the shoals of the nature-nurture dichotomy. Here, in "Evolution's Eye", she good-humoredly unmasks the rhetorical stratagems of reflexive genecentrism, while continuing to strengthen the case for the integrative, multifocal approach of developmental systems theory.”—Helen E. Longino, University of Minnesota

“To think of nature and nurture as two distinct categories is not only wrong, Susan Oyama convincingly argues, but doing so hobbles our attempts to understand the nature of development and evolution at every level. Hers is a voice that needs to be heard.”—Evelyn Fox Keller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Oyama writes elegantly and from a deep intellectual base. This alternative view to the dominant genetic determinism will be of interest to all who seek a more complex view of human nature. It is an excellent book, beautifully composed."--Katherine Nelson, City University of New York

From the Back Cover:

"Susan Oyama's "Ontogeny of Information" provided a navigational chart for researchers seeking to avoid the shoals of the nature-nurture dichotomy. Here, in "Evolution's Eye," she good-humoredly unmasks the rhetorical stratagems of reflexive genecentrism, while continuing to strengthen the case for the integrative, multifocal approach of developmental systems theory."--Helen E. Longino, University of Minnesota

About this edition

• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0822324369
• ISBN 13: 9780822324362
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288