Paleontology : a philosophical introduction / Derek Turner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Turner, Derek D. (Derek Donald), 1974- author.

Series:

Cambridge introductions to philosophy and biology.

Cambridge introductions to philosophy and biology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleontology--Philosophy.

Paleontology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 227 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the wake of the paleobiological revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, paleontologists continue to investigate far-reaching questions about how evolution works. Many of those questions have a philosophical dimension. How is macroevolution related to evolutionary changes within populations? Is evolutionary history contingent? How much can we know about the causes of evolutionary trends? How do paleontologists read the patterns in the fossil record to learn about the underlying evolutionary processes? Derek Turner explores these and other questions, introducing the reader to exciting recent work in the philosophy of paleontology and to theoretical issues including punctuated equilibria and species selection. He also critically examines some of the major accomplishments and arguments of paleontologists of the last 40 years.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. A new way of looking at the fossil record

3. Punctuated equilibrium

4. Species and macroevolution

5. The case for species selection

6. Real trends, relative progress

7. Dynamics of evolutionary trends

8. Evolutionary contingency

9. Diversity, disparity, and the Burgess Shale

10. Molecular fossils.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-21287-1

1-139-01255-X

1-283-06795-1

9786613067951

0-511-92110-1

1-139-01172-3

1-139-01198-7

1-139-01119-7

1-139-01092-1

1-139-01145-6

OCLC:

714568465