Abstract
Have we yet recognized the full complexity of evolution? Indeed, can we ever expect to do so? The aim of this chapter is to discuss the extent to which our methods for studying evolution may limit our perceptions of it and to consider whether any approach is capable of encompassing all the issues. The chapter focuses on an aspect of method which is particularly hard to stand back from. This is the area, beyond data gathering and experimental techniques as such, of relating the diversity of available data and inferring their meaning in relation to a full understanding of evolution: what one could call the tacit rationale, since the underlying arguments and assumptions are so rarely made explicit. Three such rationales are identified and characterized and then, in a final section, assessed in the light of their contribution to a possible single, coherent approach to evolution. The vertebrate eye is used to illustrate the arguments, for reasons that will become evident.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alberts BM (1986): The function of the hereditary materials: Biological catalyses reflect the cell’s evolutionary history. Am Zool 26: 781–796
Atchley WR, Fitch WM (1991): Gene trees and the origin of inbred strains of mice. Science 254: 554–556
Berry RJ (1977): Inheritance and Natural History. London: Collins
Bock G, Widdows K (1990): Myopia and the Control of Eye Growth. Chicester: Wiley
Clayton RM (1985): Developmental genetics of the lens. In: The Ocular Lens: Structure, Function and Pathology, Maisel H, ed. New York: Dekker
Coulombre AJ (1965): The eye. In: Organogenesis, DeHaan RL, Ursprung H, eds. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
Darwin C (1859): The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. London: Murray
Goldsmith TH (1990): Optimization, constraint, and history in the evolution of eyes. Q Rev Biol 65: 281–322
Harding JJ (1991): Cataract: Biochemistry, Epidemiology and Pharmacology. London: Chapman and Hall
Harding JJ, Crabbe MJC (1984): The lens: Development, proteins, metabolism and cataract. In: The Eye, Vol 1b, 3rd Edition, Davson H, ed. Orlando, FL; Academic Press
Horder TJ (1983): Embryological bases of evolution. In: Development and Evolution, Goodwin BC, Holder N, Wylie CC, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Horder TJ (1986): Recapitulation reconsidered. Plzen Lek Shorn Suppl 51: 9–30
Horder TJ (1989): Syllabus for an embryological synthesis. In: Complex Organismal Functions: Integration and Evolution in Vertebrates, Wake DB, Roth G, eds. Chichester: Wiley
Horder TJ (1991): Molecular biology and evolution: Two perspectives. A review of concepts. In: Developmental Patterning of the Vertebrate Limb, Hinchliffe JR, Hurle JM, Summerbell D, eds. New York: Plenum
Jacobson AG, Sater AK (1988): Features of embryonic induction. Development 104: 341–359
Lalley PA, McKusick VA (1985): Report of the committee on comparative mapping. Cytogenetics Cell Genet. 40: 536–566
Nei M, Koehn RK (1986): Evolution of Genes and Proteins. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer
Patten BM (1946): Human Embryology. London: Churchill
Patterson C (1987): Molecules and Morphology in Evolution: Conflict or Compromise? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Raup DM, Jablonski D (1986): Patterns and Processes in the History of Life. Berlin: Springer
Sacerdote M (1971): Differentiation of ectopic retinal structures in the hypothalamic- hypophysial area in the adult crested newt bearing a permanent hypothalamic lesion. Z Anat Entwickl Gesch 134: 49–60
Scharloo W (1991): Canalization: Genetic and developmental aspects. Ann Rev Ecol System 22: 65–93
Scherer S (1990): The protein molecular clock: Time for a reevaluation. Evol Biol 24: 83–106
Walls LW (1942): The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation. Bloomfield Hills: Cranbrook Press
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Horder, T.J. (1993). Three Glimpses of Evolution. In: Sharma, S.C., Fawcett, J.W. (eds) Formation and Regeneration of Nerve Connections. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6707-7_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6707-7_16
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-6709-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6707-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive