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Avoiding Paradigm-Based Limits to Knowledge of Evolution

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Evolutionary Biology

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Biology ((EBIO,volume 32))

Abstract

Since Darwin (1859) first proposed that evolution proceeds by natural selection, we have learned much about it. The founding of population genetic theory (summaries: Fisher, 1958; Haldane, 1932; Wright, 1931) showed the genetic feasibility of natural selection, removing a major objection to Darwin’s theory (Provine, 1971), and led to extended study of population genetic phenomena (e.g., Nei, 1987; Hartl and Clark, 1989). The “Modern Synthesis” (Jepsen et al., 1949; Mayr and Provine, 1980) brought paleontology and systematics together with population genetics to endorse Darwin’s insights and, many thought, to lay the foundation of steady progress in understanding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305-5020, USA

    Ward B. Watt

  2. Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, P.O. Box 519, Crested Butte, Colorado, 81224, USA

    Ward B. Watt

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  1. Ward B. Watt
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, 92521, Riverside, California, USA

    Michael T. Clegg

  2. Queens College of the City University of New York, Flushing, New York, USA

    Max K. Hecht

  3. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Ross J. Macintyre

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Watt, W.B. (2000). Avoiding Paradigm-Based Limits to Knowledge of Evolution. In: Clegg, M.T., Hecht, M.K., Macintyre, R.J. (eds) Evolutionary Biology. Evolutionary Biology, vol 32. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4135-6_4

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