What Evolution Is (Science Masters Series) [Paperback]

Ernst Mayr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2002 | Series: Science Masters Series

At once a spirited defense of Darwinian explanations of biology and an elegant primer on evolution for the general reader, What Evolution Is poses the questions at the heart of evolutionary theory and considers how our improved understanding of evolution has affected the viewpoints and values of modern man.Science Masters Series

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Gathering insights from his seven-decade career, the renowned biologist Ernst Mayr argues that evolution is now to be considered not a theory but a fact--and that "there is not a single Why? question in biology that can be answered adequately without a consideration of evolution."

Mayr, emeritus professor of zoology at Harvard University, has long been one of the world's foremost researchers in genetic and evolutionary theory. In this overview of past and current scientific thought, he discusses key concepts and terms, among them the origin of species, the (somewhat metaphorical) "struggle for existence," and agents of micro- and macroevolution. Somewhat against the grain, he argues against reduction and for the study of evolution at the phenotypic, not genetic, level. In his concluding pages, Mayr offers a careful overview of human evolution, adding his view that humankind is indeed unique--though "it has not yet completed the transition from quadrupedal to bipedal life in all of its structures."

Advanced students of the life sciences, as well as readers looking for a survey of current evolutionary theory, will find Mayr's book a useful companion. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

At age 97, Ernst Mayr is one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, and here he delivers yet another valuable addition to the field of evolutionary theory. Mayr, who was also a curator at the American Museum of Natural History for two decades, guides lay readers through evolutionary thought from the book of Genesis and creationist theory through Darwin's theories and "soft" evolution and on to more contemporary, inclusive concepts. He takes readers on a whirlwind voyage from the scala naturae (the Great Chain of Being, in which everything in the world was accorded a position in a developmental hierarchy) to Mayr's own work, which builds on Darwinian theory and environmental factors. No one but Mayr could explain evolution so well, and though the text is peppered with many scientific terms, overall the author is triumphant in his goal to teach "first and foremost... biologist or not, [anyone] who simply wants to know more about evolution." While many authors suggest their tomes are the authoritative source, Mayr remains humble, reminding readers that "many details remain controversial." And the combination of his expertise, his elegant prose and the sheer pleasure of so many enthralling facts (the 145-million-year-old Archaeopteryx is a near perfect link between reptiles and birds, for example) means that studying the fossil record has rarely been so absorbing. Appendixes answer FAQs and respond to various objections to evolutionary theory, while a glossary offers entries from acoelomate to zygote.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (October 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465044263
• ISBN-13: 978-0465044269
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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112 of 120 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich, textured and diverse overview. September 24, 2002

By Roger McEvilly (the guilty bystander)

Format:Hardcover

This is a very good introductory overview of evolutionary theory, suitable for the enthusiastic novice, the educated skeptic, the qualified biologist, or for those who simply wish to know what has been going on in this fascinating field for the last 150 years and more of scientific enquiry.

The writer, Ernst Mayr, only recently passed away aged over 100, and had been through a good deal of this scientific development, and is therefore in a unique position to approach the subject. Jared Diamond (author of 'The Third Chimpanzee', 'Guns, Germs and Steel') describes the result: "there is no better book on evolution". Whilst a little skeptical of this hyperbole, I decided to check it out, and wasn't disappointed.

Discussions range from the philosphical (everything in this Earth seems to be in a state of flux" p7), to the palaeontological ("the older the strata in which a fossil is found...the more different the fossil will be from living relatives" p13-although see also the occassional stasis of the genotype on p278-79), to the embryonic (eg 'recapitulation'-an important point), to the modern discovery of 'transposable elements' (gene jumping and copying-p100). Important developments in the theory include the 'branching theory' of Darwin (p19), to the theory of common descent (p21), to discussions of biogeography (species distribution), molecular biology (including the molecular clock), to the formation of new genes by doubling and insertion, leading to diversification (p108-9). The reader will find all the scientific development and current investigations exhaustive, but (hopefully!) rarely exhausting.

The causes of speciation have come along way since Darwins 1859 Origin: allopatric,dichopatric, peripactic, sympatric (not found in mammals p180), instantaneous (chromosome doubling), parapatric, and hybridisation. Concepts to ponder over-in case of being caught out at parties.

The historical background of 19th century philosophy is introduced (for which modern day philosophy is a little embarrassed) including 'essentialism' (constant essence of species ie "a natural kind"-with variants either irrelevant or accidental), and 'finalism' (the belief that everything moves toward greater perfection -eg Kant, and others), as compared to Malthus', Wallace's and Darwin's 'population thinking' (the study of variation in populations-a crucial concept).

3 theories of evolution are based on essentialism -transmutationism (origin of new types by mutation or saltation), transformationism-gradual change to a new natural 'type' by the influence of the environment, including use and disuse or inheritance of acquired characters (ie Lamarckism), and orthogenesis-the propensity of the living world to move towards perfection (typified by Kant, amongst others). (There are querks possible in these examples-for example some transmutational theories may be non-essentialist- however these 'higher arguments' are sometimes over semantics as much as over concepts). 'Essentialism' was certainly one of the most significant ideological barriers to evolutionary thought, and still is today. (Some present day philosophers still seem obsessed by it-see 'Darwins Dangerous Idea' by Daniel Dennett for a good discussion of philosophical issues and debate).

Having little time for 'labels' I have never bothered with such labels as 'Darwinism', 'Neo-Darwinism' etc etc, but after reading this book, I found that my position is mostly that of 'Darwinism' anyway. (Some relief, I think, whatever 'Darwinism' may mean).
A good summary of 'Darwinism' is provided (p86):
1) non-constancy of species
2) descent from common ancestor
3) gradualness (but see also below for semantical distinction with punctuationism)
4) diversity (by species multiplication)
5) natural selection (but see also Baldwin Effect below).

These basic tenants have been thrown around and debated for over a century, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that most variants of these ideas amongst evolutionary debates, do not, in fact contradict these basic principles (eg punctuated equilibrium-page 270-"punctuated equilibria, which at first sight, seem to support saltationism and discontinuity, are in fact strictly populational phenomenon, and therefore gradual"). I'm not sure I agree with this point, although I can see the contention is at least partly semantical.

To get some flavour from the book, rather than from me, some veritable gems include:

"sweeping generalisations are rarely correct in evolutionary biology" p271.
"there is no justification in the widespread assumption that consciousness is a unique human property"
p282.
"Selection seems able to to recruit genes in new developmental processes that previously had seemed to have other functions" p113.
"Species are groups of interbredding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups" p166.
"An organism has to be well adapted as a whole, but it also must be able at all times to cope with its ancestral genome" p154.
"There is alot of structure in the genotype that cannot be discovered and explained by a purely reductionist approach" p145.
"Surely when a population suddenly encounters an extremely adverse situation, the more genetically diverse it is, the greater the chance that it contains genotypes that can better cope with the environmental demands" p105.
"some groups speciate profusely, whereas in others speciation seems to be a rare event" p271.
"most of the variation of genotypes available for natural selection in a population is a result of recombination, not of mutations" p280.
"biological causes and natural selection are dominant in background extinction, whereas physical factors and chance are dominant in mass extinction" p203.
"most new evolutionary lineages arise by budding rather than by splitting" p191.
"rate of speciation is apparently primarily determined by ecological factors" p186.
"Any behaviour that turns out to be of evolutionary significance is likely to be reinforced by the selection of genetic determinants for such behaviour" (eg the Baldwin Effect p137-a very important concept).

And my favourite-"the phenotype of the individual as a whole ..is the actual unit of selection" p126.

One final point -the final discussion of human evolution, and in particular, evolutionary aspects of human behaviour is understandably brief-that is for the present century to unravel!

A wellspring of clean, clear, refreshing information, for the thirsty soul.

112 of 129 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone interested in evolution November 16, 2001

By Leung

Format:Hardcover

This book is simply a MUST for anyone interested in the theory of evolution, including, and especially for, those human beings who are curious about the origins of their present constitutions, both biological and psychological, and who want to be informed of the most up-to-date natural and scientific explanations about them, rather than to continue to lie ignorantly, though comfortably, in the consolation of religious or supernatural dogmas.

I cannot think of anyone else who is able to present all levels of the complexity and subtely of the process of evolution and the theory of natural selection with such precision and clarity than Ernst Mayr, a venerable scientist, "the world's greatest living evolutionary biologist" (Steven Jay Gould), "the Darwin of the 20th century" (New York Times).

This book is not only consisted of rigorous arguments, but also full of compelling illrustrative examples picked up from the diversity of living beings on our earth of various geological ages (from the fossil record to modern human beings) and places in support of those arguments.
Mayr's knowledge in biology is so comprehensive and his narrative so straighforward and lucid that he recounts those examples of evolution history just like a grandfather telling some everyday stories to his grandsons.

And I especially recommend those who once found or still find the so-called "GENE EYES' VIEW" (as popularized by Richard Dawkins) attractive shall seriously study this great work. And then he or she, I think, will soon discover that how imprecise and misguiding is the metaphorical language of those sociobiologists in their description of almost every parts of the process of evolution. This book shall at least provoke our cautions towards the trend of reductionism and atomism in various branch of scientific endeavor.

Besides, Jared Diamond's preface is also well written. It let us have a look into the extraordinary life of this great scientist. I am especially moved to read that Mayr "at the age of 97, still writing a new book every year or two."

Finally, I have also to point out what seems to me to be hardly a harmless drawback of this otherwise excellent work. This is the author's explicit belief, as expressed in the section on HUMAN ETHICS, in the "moral education" of the "world's great religion", especially for the "cultures of the Christian world". I feel quite puzzled how Mayr could think that some "perfectly sound" ethical principles could ever be deduced from a utterly absurd world-view, as that which is presented by the creationists, which, in so far as I understand it, seems to Mayr to have already been completed refuted by the Darwinian evolutionists.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What Evolution Is August 21, 2002

By Joe Zika TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

What Evolution Is written by Ernst Mayr is a well written lucid account of the current accepted explanation of evolution. This compelling book by the grand old man of evolutionary biology really brings home, to the general reader, a spirited defense of the Darwinian explanation of evolutionary biology.

Mayr really gets to the heart of the question... why evolution, what evidence, and the role of organic diversity. Mayr has spent seventy years in search of the answers and reading this book reveals answers to some of the most challenging problems posed by evolutionary theory, or as Mayr likes to put it, evolutionary fact.

Yes, those who need more evidence to prove evolution; why are you hedging. The clains of the creationists have been refuted so frequently and so thoroughly that there is no need to cover this subject once more. Publications by Alters, Eldredge, Futuyma, Kitcher, Montagu, Newell, Peacocke, Ruse, and Young all are in concert with Mayr... evolution is fact.

Mayr believes that the story of evolution as it is worked out during the past fifty years continues to be attacked and criticized. The critics either hold an entirely different ideology, as do the creationists, or they simply misunderstand the Darwinian paradigm. The dogma of religion should be left out of the discussions of evolution as irrelevant, as religion is not a biological process.

Mayr discusses the reductionist approach, an approach that reduces everything down to the level of the gene. As Mayr describes this in a refreshingly nontechnical language, you can appreciate evolutionary phenomena much better.

An interesting section toward the back of the book in the fianl section where Mayr has a rather provocative approach of evolution as it is related to viewpoints and values of modern man. I found this to be very enlightening and fascinatingly compelling bringing insight and clarity to human evolution, and how did mankind evolve.

If you like to read about evolution, evolutionary biology, and want a clear straight forward appoach, this is the book for you as Mayr pulls no punches as the question is asked... Are humans alone? Are we the only intelligent beings in this vast universe? Mayr says, "Alas, the rutted road from bacteria to humans is long and difficult. Following the origin of life on Earth there were nothing but prokaryotes for the next billion years, and highly intelligent life originated only about 300,000 years ago, in a single one of the more than one billion species that had arisen on Earth. These are indeed long odds."

"Yes, for all practical purposes, man is alone." We can only consider this that evolution is something unexpected, but it happened anyway dispelling the odds.