Evolution

Evolution

Introduction

Stephen Jay Gould was the evolutionary theorist at Harvard University , a paleontologist , biologist , and historian of science . According to Sapp (2003 ) Gould first became interested in the theory of evolution at the age of five when he and his father visited the Museum of Natural History in New York (96 . After graduating with a Ph .D . from Columbia University , Gould went on to become what a cover story in Newsweek calls perhaps America 's foremost writer and thinker on evolution (Adler 44 . In What does the dreaded 'E ' word

mean , anyway ' Stephen Jay Gould presents an examination of what the word evolution ' means What does the dreaded 'E ' word mean , anyway ' is part of Gould 's lifelong research explaining Darwin 's evolutionary theory . As Gould 's title suggests , his essay reflects on his own conception of evolution How should one define the word evolution ? Gould claims that the Darwin 's ideas and their significance remain to a great extent misunderstood to this day and defines the term evolution ' correctly He starts by defining evolution and produces conception of evolution as a predictable progress . Gould argues that Darwin 's model of natural selection meets with strong cultural and psychological resistance against their application to our own evolutionary origin ' This essay both examines the reasons for this resistance and explores the possibly liberating potential of a variation model of change

Main Body

What are the different meanings of evolution in the disciplines astronomy and biology

The confused application of the term evolution ' has led to some unfortunate misconceptions . Gould claims that some biologists who favor the evolutionary conceptualization are often unaware of the Darwinian or neo-Darwinian theory . The extent to which Darwin may have been committed to progress ' in evolution has become a subject of controversy . Gould insists that Darwin did not view evolution as progressive : Darwin could not have described the process regulated by his mechanism of natural selection as `evolution ' in the vernacular meaning then conveyed by the word (Gould 1 ) and that he rejected the idea that developing embryos of descendants are duplicates of their adult ancestors

Gould indicates that rather than following a process of Darwinian gradualism , the meaning of evolution of a typical species is best understood in terms of geologically rapid change . He states

For the mechanism of natural selection yields only increasing adaptation to changing local environments , not predictable progress in the usual sense of cosmic or general betterment expressed as growing complexity augmented mentality , or whatever (Gould 1

Gould recognizes that the evolutionary development of our species was not a linear march to our current form . Instead , it was a process of diversification of hominid species . Moreover , according to Gould since natural selection can adapt organisms only to local circumstances , and since local circumstances change in an effectively random manner through geological time , the pathways of adaptive evolution cannot be predicted (Gould 1

Gould indicates that once established , a species actually remains comparatively unchanged for the duration of its existence , before undergoing rather rapid change

Gould states that the astronomical notion of evolution that takes account of an array of definite and predictable mechanisms is different from natural selection . He states a discussion of the contrasts between biological evolution and cosmological evolution might offer some utility as a commentary about alternative worldviews and as a reminder that many supposed debates in science arise from confusion engendered by differing uses of words and not from deep conceptual muddles about the nature of things (Gould 4

Gould makes the point in discussing theories of stellar evolution theories of stellar evolution ' could not be more relentlessly transformational in positing a definite and predictable sequence of changes unfolding as simple consequences of physical laws (No biological process operates in exactly the same manner (Gould 6 Gould describes a stellar lifetime as fully predictable and linear sequence of stages in which each stage automatically generates the next Gould portrays a star as a perfect , self-regulating machine destined to reprocess itself endlessly through the repetition of the stages . Some factors may cause variation in some stages of a stellar lifetime , but the basic process does not alter . Natural laws that govern these processes remain precise and complete

According to Gould , society tends to find the astronomical notion of evolution far more acceptable than that of evolutionary biologists . What reasons does Gould assign for such a preference

According to Gould Earth , however , has become so modified during its geological history that we cannot use this inferential method to reconstruct the initial state of our own planet (Gould 7 . It is evident that two major problems demand an explanation . First , the origin of diversity and its seemingly ly arrangement in a natural system provides significant clues . Second , the continuous adaptation of all organisms to each other and to their surroundings does not rank as evolution . As Sapp (2003 ) stated : for society , there is the considerable problem of how to reconcile the discontinuity displayed by species and higher categories with the general continuity of all phenomena of life (98 . Therefore , Gould concludes the general public feels much more comfortable with the astronomical sense and will therefore impose this more congenial definition upon the history of life (Gould 7

Does embracing a biologist 's notion of evolution require us to rethink our assumptions about culture and history vis-a-vis adaptability

Gould discuses the Darwinian statement that life 's evolution can be explained by adding up , through a huge amount of geological time , the successive small changes produced generation after generation by the variational basis of natural selection . For example , as local conditions become colder , elephants with more hair will cope better and survive Elephants with less hair will not survive because they can not compete successfully in the colder environment . However , this differential reproductive success is not guaranteed in every case : in any generation the hairiest elephant of all may fall into a crevasse and die (Gould 5 . This process leads to the complex and comprehensive phenomena of evolution . This fable , Gould states , can help us understand why biologists have become resistant to Darwinian theory . There is something very fascinating about variational basis of natural selection in Darwinian evolution . However , the radicalism of variational theory lies in its power to oppose to some of the deepest and most traditional thoughts about our own evolutionary origin . To these beliefs Darwinian variational mechanism presents the most contrary position imaginable Darwin 's system should be viewed as liberating . The answers to questions cannot be found in a chimerical search for the purpose of our lives Darwin 's variational theory is teaching us to look within ourselves for these answers

Yet the importance of Darwin 's great insight into our own evolutionary origin was not always recognized . As a result , systematics has had its ups and downs in the history of biology . Gould notes that these difficulties in grasping Darwin 's great insight became exacerbated when our Victorian forebears made their unfortunate choice of a defining word - evolution ' - with its vernacular meaning of directed unfolding (Gould 5

At the present time we need useful historical analysis to rethink our assumptions about culture and history vis-a-vis adaptability Evolutionary biologists need to emphasize their own distinctive meaning of evolution , especially since Darwinian reconstruction has virtually changed the original meaning of evolution ' The new emphasis on word evolution ' will drastically affect the conceptual climate of entire branches of biology . For decades , for example , evolution was defined as the change in gene frequencies in populations . According to Rose (1998 this definition limited evolutionary biology to the modification of existing species , that is , to the adaptational component of evolution (198 . The origin of diversity was neglected as if it were not even part of evolution . The study of diversity also will lead to new concepts

Conclusion

Stephen Jay Gould became the most widely read contemporary popular commentator on evolution . He was also the chief critic of contemporary Darwinism . In What does the dreaded 'E ' word mean , anyway ' Stephen Jay Gould proposed his corrections and alternatives to mainstream concept of evolution and discussed the contrasts between biological evolution and cosmological evolution . Gould produced the appropriate analysis of the different kinds of so-called evolution in different areas that has not yet been undertaken . There is no doubt that this analysis of evolutionary principles has greatly enriched many areas of human thought

Works Cited

Adler , HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /reader /action /gotoDocId /4 " Jerry Enigmas of Evolution ' Newsweek , 29 March 1982

Gould , Stephen Jay . What does the dreaded E ' word mean , anyway Natural History , Feb , 2000 . Available at : HYPERLINK "http /findarticles .com /p /articles /mi_m1134 /is_1_109 /ai_ /pg_1 http /findarticles .com /p /articles /mi_m1134 /is_1_109 /ai_ /pg_1

Rose , Michael R . Darwin 's Spectre : Evolutionary Biology in the Modern World . Princeton University Press : Princeton , NJ , 1998

Sapp , Jan . Genesis : The Evolution of Biology . Oxford University Press New York , 2003

PAGE

PAGE 6 ...