The Material Basis of Evolution: Reissued (The Silliman Memorial Lectures Series) [Paperback]

Richard B. Goldschmidt (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Silliman Memorial Lectures Series | Publication Date: September 10, 1982

In this book, Goldschmidt inquires into the types of hereditary differences that produce new species. Goldschmidt used a wide range of research to formulate his own picture of evolution. Contrary to near-unanimity among scientists, he insisted that the neo-Darwinian theory of micromutations applied only within species and was no longer tenable as a general theory of evolution. Instead, Goldschmidt claimed, macroevolution resulted from larger jumps in genotype - across "bridgeless gaps" - related either to systemic mutations or to mutations affecting early development.

Product Details

• Paperback: 438 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300028237
• ISBN-13: 978-0300028232
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #825,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heretic, July 12, 2008

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A. Simon (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Material Basis of Evolution: Reissued (The Silliman Memorial Lectures Series) (Paperback)

This is the author's magnum opus, a scientific treatise wherein he critiques the classical Darwinian-Wallace theory of evolution and comes to the conclusion that it is faulty. Divided into two halves, Microevolution and Macroevolution, he postulates that Natural Selection can account for microevolution, so that the different subspecies that come into being are due to adaptation to the environment. Macroevolution, leading to new species, however, is due to major rearrangements of the genome. As a result, Goldschmidt became a heretic to neo-Darwinists. Nonetheless, many of his arguments are valid.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONCE REJECTED, THIS BOOK IS NOW BEING CONSIDERED AGAIN, November 12, 2009

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Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Material Basis of Evolution: Reissued (The Silliman Memorial Lectures Series) (Paperback)

Richard Goldschmidt (1878-1958) was a German-born American geneticist, whose views on macroevolution were once considered heresy, but they have been resurrected in recent years (which is why the book has been reissued in a modern edition).

The problem is not "microevolution," but "macroevolution"---how larger-scale changes occur. "I may challenge the adherents of the strictly Darwinian view ... to try to explain the evolution of the following features by accumulation and selection of small mutants: hair in mammals, feathers in birds, segmentation of arthropods and vertebrates... etc." "I wonder if anybody would ever succeed in explaining the phylogeny of the auditory ossicles in this way."

Goldschmidt's proposal? "The decisive step in evolution ... requires another evolutionary method than that of sheer accumulation of micromutations." He suggests, "the possibility of a large departure in a single step is offered."

Thus, Goldschmidt writes, "I used the term 'hopeful monster' to express the idea that mutants producing monstrosities may have played a considerable role in macroevolution. A monstrosity appearing in a single genetic step might permit the occupation of a new environmental niche and thus produce a new type in one step." (And no, he does NOT claim that a reptile laid an egg, and a bird hatched out of it, as creationists sometimes misportray him.)

Stephen Jay Gould wrote an illuminating historical introduction to this edition, and states, "Goldschmidt ... had largely himself to blame for burying his gems so deeply in unacceptable and overextended claims. Indeed, he suffered the worst fate of all: to be ridiculed AND unread." He also notes that "Mivart's old argument about the inviability of 'incipient stages of useful structures' seems as sound as ever, and Goldschmidt fails to use it."

Goldschmidt's work deserves serious consideration by anyone interested in evolutionary theory, and this is an excellent edition to buy.