George C. Williams died on Sept. 8 2010. To read about his influence, see David Sloan Wilson's blogpost here and a short biography by Michael Ruse here.
Williams had an impact on me as a Master's student when I read his book Adaptation and Natural Selection. It's a good read and I highly recommend it.
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4 comments:
I looked at the blogpost. So what I was describing in my earlier post was along the lines of the "group evolution" theory.
I was never comfortable with the evolution theory presented in my high school biology class. I was skeptical about whether this process could lead to the changes that have developed in organisms over the eons. No real proof was offered in that class; only some specific examples illustrating the idea were presented. I have wondered if there is more going on then Darwin's simple theory. Could organisms have developed mechanisms to direct or control evolution. The male/female reproductive strategy of some species is an example of this. Could aging be another?
@Ed
The term is called "group selection" not "group evolution" in evolutionary theory.
There is a difference between an outcome and a process. In evolutionary theory, those that favour group selection are suggesting that the process, natural selection, acts at different levels: genes, cells, individuals and also on groups. The outcome of that is that the group evolves.
Because I subscribe to the view that evolution is a fact, not a theory, I do not want to use the blog to argue about the evidence for evolution.
I respect that others hold religious beliefs and that these can sometimes be challenged by science. I taught an undergrad course in Evolutionary Theory and know that it is a very personal and philosophical journey for many.
A really good discussion of the evidence, can be found in many of Richard Dawkins' books.
I probably wasn't clear about what I was asking; I am an atheist and have no brief with creationism. My questions are:
1)Have any evolution researchers investigated the possibility that organisms have built-in mechanisms which facilitate evolution. An obvious example of this is the male/female reproductive system for many organisms. I am wondering if something more subtle or sophisticated exists. For example, could some creatures have the ability to generate new traits in offspring which are likely to be beneficial? Could an ecosystem function as a kind of organism which can regulate the inhabitants? This is what I meant by questioning Darwin's theory.
2) Has any evolution researcher investigated the possibility that aging came about to facilitate evolution?
Concerning the question of evolution evidence, it seems to me that there is a strong claim and a weak one for Darwin's theory as opposed to what I just suggested:
Weak: There are examples which demonstrate Darwin's evolution scheme.
Strong: All evolution has occurred according to Darwin's scheme.
I can accept the Weak claim. To prove the strong one, however, you probably need a time machine to see what has happened in the past, although I admit I haven't read Dawkin's book. In the past, the science community has had theories based on inadequate evidence which were later scrapped. For example, I think scientists used to believe the Earth is about 10,000 years old. Is Darwin's theory missing something?
Actually, I have another question for you; How is it possible for the chromosomes of animals to change as they evolve? The various creatures have different chromosomes and they also had common ancestors so the genetic material has been changing. If a mutant has some bizarre new chromosome arrangement, can it still mate?
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