Niche construction : how life contributes to its own evolution / John Odling-Smee.
By: Odling-Smee, J. C. (John C.) [author.]
Language: English Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2024]Description: 1 online resource (unpaged) : illustrationsContent type: text Media type: computer Carrier type: online resourceISBN: 9780262378888; 0262378884; 9780262378895; 0262378892Other title: How life contributes to its own evolutionSubject(s): Evolution (Biology) | Adaptation (Biology) | BioenergeticsGenre/Form: Electronic books.DDC classification: 576.8 LOC classification: QH366.2 | .O33 2024Online resources: Full text is available at the Directory of Open Access Books. Click here to view. Summary: "The modification of environments by the niche-constructing activities of organisms changes the subject matter of evolutionary theory"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: How niche construction theory extends evolutionary theory beyond natural selection to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. In Niche Construction, John Odling-Smee, the leading authority on niche construction theory, extends evolutionary theory from an explanation of how populations of organisms respond to natural selection pressures in their environments to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. Organisms, he shows, cause changes in their local external environments by interacting with them, thereby contributing in fundamental ways to their own and one another's evolution. This book applies niche construction theory to current problems such as human-induced global warming and suggests how humans might contribute positively to the future evolution of life on Earth. Odling-Smee explains how orthodox evolutionary theory falls short in two ways. First, it does not describe how organisms contribute to their own and one another's evolution through their environment-changing niche constructing activities. Second, it fails to explain how genetic evolution can give rise to supplementary knowledge-gaining processes in many species. These include certain developmental processes in individual organisms and socio-cultural processes in animals, including humans. Neo-Darwinism, the author writes, assesses the fitness of individual organisms in populations in terms of their capacity to survive and reproduce, but without attributing these capacities to the active, purposeful agency of organisms. He argues that the purposeful agency of individual organisms plays a central role in evolution. He also discusses the relationship of an organism's energy-consuming activities and the second law of thermodynamics.| Item type | Current location | Home library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
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EBOOK/OPEN ACCESS
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COLLEGE LIBRARY | COLLEGE LIBRARY | 576.8 Od4 2024 (Browse shelf) | Not for loan (In Process) |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
"The modification of environments by the niche-constructing activities of organisms changes the subject matter of evolutionary theory"-- Provided by publisher.
How niche construction theory extends evolutionary theory beyond natural selection to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. In Niche Construction, John Odling-Smee, the leading authority on niche construction theory, extends evolutionary theory from an explanation of how populations of organisms respond to natural selection pressures in their environments to a more general theory about the coevolution of organisms with their environments. Organisms, he shows, cause changes in their local external environments by interacting with them, thereby contributing in fundamental ways to their own and one another's evolution. This book applies niche construction theory to current problems such as human-induced global warming and suggests how humans might contribute positively to the future evolution of life on Earth. Odling-Smee explains how orthodox evolutionary theory falls short in two ways. First, it does not describe how organisms contribute to their own and one another's evolution through their environment-changing niche constructing activities. Second, it fails to explain how genetic evolution can give rise to supplementary knowledge-gaining processes in many species. These include certain developmental processes in individual organisms and socio-cultural processes in animals, including humans. Neo-Darwinism, the author writes, assesses the fitness of individual organisms in populations in terms of their capacity to survive and reproduce, but without attributing these capacities to the active, purposeful agency of organisms. He argues that the purposeful agency of individual organisms plays a central role in evolution. He also discusses the relationship of an organism's energy-consuming activities and the second law of thermodynamics.
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on September 10, 2024).
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