Abstract
The modern evolutionary synthesis, also referred to as the modern Darwinism, was formed in the 1930–40s and has dominated biology ever since. Its success is partly due to the energetic claims of its authors that they had solved all the main problems of the evolutionary biology. The modern Darwinism was formed over a long period of time by many scientists. This circumstance was both its weakness and its strength. On the one hand, the vagueness of its main postulates left it open to criticism. On the other hand, so much was written about this theory that most critical remarks could be addressed by finding a reference to some concession, exception or particular case.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Boesiger E (1980) Evolutionary biology in France at the time of the evolutionary synthesis. In: Mayr E, Provine W (eds) The evolutionary synthesis: perspectives on the unification of biology. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge (MA)/London, pp 309–322
Bowler PJ (2003) Introduction (Predislovie). In: In the shadow of Darwinism. Alternative theories of evolution in the 20th century (V teni darvinizma. Al’ternativnye teorii evolyutsii v XX veke). Yasnyy den’, St Petersburg, p 5–6
Cain J (1993) Common problems and cooperative solutions. Organizational activities in evolutionary studies, 1937–46. Isis 84(75):1–25
Cain J (1994) Ernst Mayr as a community architect: launching the society for the study of evolution and the journal evolution. Biol Philos 9(3):387–429
Cuénot L (1951) Biological evolution. The facts. The uncertainties. (L’évolution biologique. Les faites. Les incertitudes). Avec la collaboration de A. Tétry. Masson et C-ie, Paris
Darwin Ch (1887) cited in Barlow N (ed) (1958) The autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809–1882. With the original omissions restored. Edited and with appendix and notes by his grand-daughter Nora Barlow. Collins, London
Devillers C, Chaline J (1989) The theory of evolution. State of the question in the light of current scientific knowledge. (La théorie de l’évolution. Etat de la question à la lumière des connaissances scientifiques actuelles). Dunod, Paris
Dobzhansky Th (1937) Genetics and the origin of species. Columbia Univ Press, New York
Gall YaM (1988) Development of the natural selection theory: ecologic-genetic synthesis (Razvitie teorii estesvennogo otbora: ecologo-genetichesky syntez). Doctor’s thesis. LGU, Leningrad
Gilyarov MS (1970) Regularities of adaptations of arthropods to life on land (Zakonomernosti prisposobleniy chlenistonogikh k zhizni na sushe). Nauka, Moscow
Gilyarov MS (1985) Parallel directions of evolution of insects and higher vertebrates (Parallel’nye napravleniya evolyutsii nasekomykh i vysshikh pozvonochnykh). In: Morphological studies of animals (Morfologicheskie issledovaniya zhivotnykh). AN SSSR, Moscow, pp 61–77
Gould SJ (1977) The return of hopeful monsters. Nat Hist 86:22–30
Gould SJ (1982) Darwinism and the expansion of evolutionary theory. Science 216:380–387
Grassé P-P (1962) The uncertainties of evolution (Les incertitudes de l’évolution). L’année biologique, 4 Serie, 1(7–8):375–389
Guyénot E (1961) The origin of species (L’origine des espèces). Presses universitaires de France, Paris
Heberer G (ed) (1943) The evolution of organisms (Die Evolution der Organismen). Gustav Fischer, Jena
Hossfeld U (2003) Otto Kleinschmidt (1870–1954) and “The scientific inadequacy of Darwin’s work about the origin of species” (Otto Klyaynshmidt [1870–1954] i «Nauchnaya nepolnotsennost’ raboty Darvina o proiskhozhdenii vidov»). (In: Evolutionary biology: history and theory (Evolyutsionnaya biologiya: istoriya i teoriya). SPbFIIET RAN, St Petersburg, pp 189–199
Hull D (1988) Science as a process. Univ of Chicago press, Chicago
Huxley JS (ed) (1940 [1978]) New Systematics. Reprint of the 1940 ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Huxley JS (1944) Evolution. In: The modern synthesis, 3rd edn. George Allen and Unwin, London
Jeannel R (1950) The march of evolution (La marche de l’évolution). Edition de muséum, Paris
Kafka F (1971) English edition: Investigations of a dog (trans: Muir W, Muir E.). In: Kafka F. The complete stories. Schocken Books Inc., New York
Khozatsky LI (1973) On several aspects of evolution (O nekotorykh storonakh napravlennosti evolyutsii). In: Some philosophical questions of modern natural sciences (Nekotorye filosofskie voprosy sovremennogo estestvoznaniya), LGU, Leningrad, 1:109–122
Khozatsky LI (1981) On directionality of evolution of land vertebrates (O napravlennosti evolyutsii nazemnykh pozvonochnykh). In: Life on ancient continents, its formation and development (Zhizn’ na drevnikh kontinentakh, ee stanovlenie i razvitie). Nauka, Leningrad, pp 154–162
Kimura M (1983) The neutral theory of molecular evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Laland K, Uller T, Feldman M, Sterelny K, Müller GB, Moczek A, Jablonka E, Odling-Smee J, Wray GA, Hoekstra HE, Futuyma DJ, Lenski RE, Mackay TFC, Schluter D, Strassmann JE (2014) Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? Nature 514(7521):161–164
Lukin EI (1940) Darwinism and geographical regularities in the changes of organisms (Darvinizm i geograficheskie zakonomernosti v izmenenii organizmov). AN SSSR, Moscow, Leningrad
Mamkaev YuV (1987) The problem of parallelisms and morphological radiation (Problema parallelizmov i morfologicheskaya radiatsiya). In: Polyansky YuI (ed) Evolutionary ideas in histology and embryology. (On occasion of the centennary of birth of academician Alexei Alexeevich Zavarzin) (Evolyutsionnye idei v gistologii i embriologii. [K 100-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya akademika Alekseya Alekseevicha Zavarzina]). Trudy Leningradskogo obshchestva estestvoispytatelei, 86(1):195–203
Mayr E (1942) Systematics and the origin of species from a viewpoint of zoologist. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Mayr E (1963) Animal species and evolution. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Mayr E (1970) Populations, species, and evolution. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Mayr E (1982) The growth of biological thought. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge, MA
Mayr E, Provine W (1980) The evolutionary synthesis: perspectives on the unification of biology. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge, MA/London
Müller GB (2007) Evo-devo: extending the evolutionary synthesis. Nat Rev Genet 8:943–949
Nazarov VI (1981) The significance of studies of G. Tessier for the formation of the synthetic theory of evolution (Znachenie issledovaniy Zh. Tess'e dlya formirovaniya sinteticheskoy teorii evolyutsii). In: The problems of the contemporary history of the evolutionary teaching (Problemy noveyshey istorii evolyutsionnogo ucheniya). Nauka, Leningrad, pp 136–148
Nazarov VI (1991) The teaching about macroevolution. On the ways towards a new synthesis (Uchenie o makroevolyutsii. Na putyakh k novomu sintezu). Nauka, Moscow
Olsson L (2003) Resistance to Darwinism in Sweden: idealistic morphology, Lamarckism, the idea of constancy of species and antiselectionism (Soprotivlenie darvinizmu v Shvetsii: idealisticheskaya morfologiya, lamarkizm, ideya postoyanstva vidov i antiselektsionizm). In: In the shadow of Darwinism. Alternative theories of evolution in the 20th century (V teni darvinizma. Al’ternativnye teorii evolyutsii v XX veke). Yasnyy den’, St Petersburg, pp 82–94
Pigliucci M (2007) Do we need an extended evolutionary synthesis? Evolution 61(12):2743–2749
Provine WB (1987) Progress in evolution and meaning of life. In: Wakers CK, Van Helden A (eds) Julian Huxley. Biologist and statesman of science. Rice Univ Press, Houston, pp 165–181
Reif W-E (1983) Evolutionary theory in German paleontology. In: Grene M (ed) Dimensions of darwinism. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, pp 173–203
Rensch B (1943) Palaeontological evolutionary rules from zoological viewpoint (Die palaontologischen Evolutionsregeln in zoologischer Betrachtung). Biologia generalis 17(1–2):1–56
Rensch B (1954) New problems of the evolutionary theory: transspecies evolution (Neuere Probleme der Abstammungslehre: transspeciphische Evolution). Enke, Stuttgart
Rostand J (1962) The past of transformism (Le passé du transformisme). L’année biologique, 4 Serie, 1(7–8):339–359
Schmalhausen II (1938) The organism as a whole in the individual and the historical development (Organizm kak tseloe v individual’nom i istoricheskom razvitii). AN SSSR, Moscow-Lenngrad
Schmalhausen II (1939) Pathways and regularities of the evolutionary process (Puti i zakonomernosti evolyutsionnogo protsessa). AN SSSR, Moscow
Schmalhausen II (1946) Factors of evolution (Faktory evolyutsii). AN SSSR, Moscow-Lenngrad
Schmalhausen II (1969) The problems of Darwinism (Problemy darvinisma). Nauka, Leningrad
Severtsov AS (1990) Directionality of evolution (Napravlennost' evolyutsii). MGU, Moscow
Simpson GG (1944) Tempo and mode in evolution. Columbia Univ Press, New York
Stahl FW (1988) News and views: a unicorn in the garden. Nature 355:112–113
Stebbins GL (1950) Variation and evolution in plants. Columbia Univ Press, New York
Stebbins GL (1980) Botany and the synthetic theory of evolution. In: Mayr E, Provine W (eds) The evolutionary synthesis: perspectives on the unification of biology. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge, MA/London
Teissier G (1962) Modern transformism (Transformisme d’aujourde’hui). L’année biologique, 4 Serie 1(7–8):359–375
Timofeeff-Ressovsky NW (1939) Genetic and evolution (a report of a zoologist) (Genetik und evolution [Bericht eines Zoologen]). Z Indukt Abstamm Vererbungsl 76:158–219
Towards a new synthesis in evolutionary biology (1987) Circular of the fifth international meeting on evolutionary biology organized by the Laboratory of evolutionary biology, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Prague, Czechoslovakia, 5–11 July 1987
van Waesberge H (1982) Towards an alternative evolution model. Acta Biotheor 31:3–28
Vandel A (1954) Evolution considered as a phenomenon of development (L’évolution considérée comme phénomene de developpement). Bull Soc Zool Fr 79(4):341–356
Vandel A (1958) Man and evolution (L’homme et l’évolution). Gallimard, Paris
Vandel A (1964) Biospeleology. The biology of cave animals (Biospéologie. La biologie des Animaux Cavernicoles). Gauthier-Villars Éditeur, Paris. English edition: Vandel A (1965) Biospeleology. The biology of cavernicolous animals. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Vandel A (1968) The origin of life (La genèse du vivant). Masson et C-ie, Paris
Vorobyeva EI (1980) Parallelisms and convergencies in the evolution of crossopterygian fishes. Morphological aspects of evolution (Parallelizmy i konvergentsii v evolyutsii kisteperykh ryb. Morfologicheskie aspekty evolyutsii). Nauka, Moscow, pp 7–29
Vorontsov NN (1980) Synthetic theory of evolution: its sources, main postulates and unsolved problems (Sinteticheskaya teoriya evolyutsii: ee istochniki, osnovnye postulaty i nereshennye problemy). Zhurnal vsesoyuznogo khimicheskogo obshchestva im. D I Mendeleeva, 15(3):295–316
Wintrebert P (1952) Position of chemical Lamarckism in the determinism of evolution (Position du lamarckisme chimique dans le déterminisme de l’évolution). Vie et milieu 3(3):227–231
Wintrebert P (1962) Living world, the creator of its evolution (Le vivant, créateur de son évolution). Masson et C-ie, Paris
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Popov, I. (2018). Orthogenesis and the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis. In: Orthogenesis versus Darwinism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95144-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95144-7_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95143-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95144-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)