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| Named Person: | Charles Darwin; Charles Darwin |
|---|---|
| Document Type: | Book |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Stephen Jay Gould |
| ISBN: | 0393064255 9780393064254 9780393308181 0393308189 |
| OCLC Number: | 3090189 |
| Notes: | Includes index. |
| Description: | 285 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. |
| Responsibility: | Stephen Jay Gould. |
Abstract:
Provides information on developments in evolutionary theory, discussing such topics as the Cambrian population explosion, Velikovsky's theories, and others.
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The first book of Gould's essays
This is the first of Gould's many collections of essays originally written for the magazine "Natural History." Gould liked to bring to a popular audience current findings in evolution. He had a liberal/left political sensibility that came through in his essays, and made them more palatible for a large...
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This is the first of Gould's many collections of essays originally written for the magazine "Natural History." Gould liked to bring to a popular audience current findings in evolution. He had a liberal/left political sensibility that came through in his essays, and made them more palatible for a large section of the thinking public, many of whom are wary of both religious conservatives and evolution as a potential tool for right wing social darwinism.In this volume, there are sections on Darwin, on the history of science, on evolutionary explanations to counter-intuitive natural phenomena, and on the politics of IQ and human racial theories. But those are topics in most of his books of essays. Particular topics are: Why Darwin waited 20 years to publish (fear of religious backlash), why Velikovsky is fundamentally wrong, why textbook portrayals of good science and bad science can be misleading.Gould championed many causes early. For example, he supported the theory that there were many species of early humans, which later evidence strenthened. His fondness for catastrophism preceded and perhaps helped encourage Alvarez's comet theory of the dinosaur extinction. He also supported the theory that the eukaryotic cell was formed as a collective of prokaryotes, championed by Margulis. This book has several essays that are precursors to the Mismeaure of Man. He criticizes E. O. Wilson's sociobiology and Jensen's IQ work.The issues are sometimes dated, such as his criticism of twin studies. This predates Thomas Bouchard's more rigorous results. Dated also is his support of neoteny as an evolutionary force. Modern evo-devo has refined this rather simplistic approach.The writing is smooth and engaging, and sets the tone for the next thirty years of essays.
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Related Subjects:(12)
- Evolution (Biology) -- History.
- Natural selection -- History.
- Évolution -- Histoire.
- Sélection naturelle -- Histoire.
- Evolutie.
- Natuurlijke historie.
- Darwin, Charles, -- 1809-1882.
- Biological Evolution.
- Selection, Genetic.
- Evolution
- Natural selection
- History
User lists with this item (2)
- Books on Evolution Reviewed(23 items)
by vleighton updated 2013-05-05
- Books reviewed(160 items)
by vleighton updated about 2 weeks ago


