A new theory about the origins of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the evolutionary transition to basic consciousness. What marked the evolutionary transition from organisms that lacked consciousness to those with consciousness—to minimal subjective experiencing, or, as Aristotle described it, “the sensitive soul”? In this book, Simona Ginsburg and Eva Jablonka propose a new theory about the origin of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the transition to basic consciousness. Using a methodology similar to that used by scientists when they identified the transition from non-life to life, Ginsburg and Jablonka suggest a set of criteria, identify a marker for the transition to minimal consciousness, and explore the far-reaching biological, psychological, and philosophical implications. After presenting the historical, neurobiological, and philosophical foundations of their analysis, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose that the evolutionary marker of basic or minimal consciousness is a complex form of associative learning, which they term unlimited associative learning (UAL). UAL enables an organism to ascribe motivational value to a novel, compound, non-reflex-inducing stimulus or action, and use it as the basis for future learning. Associative learning, Ginsburg and Jablonka argue, drove the Cambrian explosion and its massive diversification of organisms. Finally, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose symbolic language as a similar type of marker for the evolutionary transition to human rationality—to Aristotle's “rational soul.”
A pioneering proposal for a pluralistic extension of evolutionary theory, now updated to reflect the most recent research. This new edition of the widely read Evolution in Four Dimensions has been revised to reflect the spate of new discoveries in biology since the book was first published in 2005, offering corrections, an updated bibliography, and a substantial new chapter. Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb's pioneering argument proposes that there is more to heredity than genes. They describe four “dimensions” in heredity—four inheritance systems that play a role in evolution: genetic, epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits), behavioral, and symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication). These systems, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act. Jablonka and Lamb present a richer, more complex view of evolution than that offered by the gene-based Modern Synthesis, arguing that induced and acquired changes also play a role. Their lucid and accessible text is accompanied by artist-physician Anna Zeligowski's lively drawings, which humorously and effectively illustrate the authors' points. Each chapter ends with a dialogue in which the authors refine their arguments against the vigorous skepticism of the fictional “I.M.” (for Ipcha Mistabra—Aramaic for “the opposite conjecture”). The extensive new chapter, presented engagingly as a dialogue with I.M., updates the information on each of the four dimensions—with special attention to the epigenetic, where there has been an explosion of new research. Praise for the first edition “With courage and verve, and in a style accessible to general readers, Jablonka and Lamb lay out some of the exciting new pathways of Darwinian evolution that have been uncovered by contemporary research.” —Evelyn Fox Keller, MIT, author of Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with Models, Metaphors, and Machines “In their beautifully written and impressively argued new book, Jablonka and Lamb show that the evidence from more than fifty years of molecular, behavioral and linguistic studies forces us to reevaluate our inherited understanding of evolution.” —Oren Harman, The New Republic “It is not only an enjoyable read, replete with ideas and facts of interest but it does the most valuable thing a book can do—it makes you think and reexamine your premises and long-held conclusions.” —Adam Wilkins, BioEssays
Does the inheritance of acquired characteristics play a significant role in evolution? In this book, Eva Jablonka and Marion J. Lamb attempt to answer that question with an original, provocative exploration of the nature and origin of hereditary variations. Starting with a historical account of Lamarck's ideas and the reasons they have fallen in disrepute, the authors go on to challenge the prevailing assumption that all heritable variation is random and the result of variation in DNA base sequences. They also detail recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying inheritance--including several pathways not envisioned by classical population genetics--and argue that these advances need to be more fully incorporated into mainstream evolutionary theory. Throughout, the book offers a new look at the evidence for and against the hereditability of environmentally induced changes, and addresses timely questions about the importance of non-Mendelian inheritance. A glossary and extensive list of references round out the book. Urging a reconsideration of the present DNA-centric view prevalent in the field, Epigentic Inheritance and Evolution will make fascinating and important reading for students and researchers in evolution, genetics, ecology, molecular biology, developmental biology, and the history and philosophy of science.
Animal Traditions maintains that the assumption that the selection of genes supplies both a sufficient explanation of the evolution and a true description of its course is, despite its almost universal acclaim, wrong. Eytan Avital and Eva Jablonka contend that evolutionary explanations must take into account the well-established fact that in mammals and birds, the transfer of learnt information is both ubiquitous and indispensable. The introduction of the behavioural inheritance system into the Darwinian explanatory scheme enables the authors to offer new interpretations for common behaviours such as maternal behaviours, behavioural conflicts within families, adoption and helping. This approach offers a richer view of heredity and evolution, integrates developmental and evolutionary processes, suggests new lines for research, and provides a constructive alternative to both the selfish gene and meme views of the world. It will make stimulating reading for all those interested in evolutionary biology, sociobiology, behavioural ecology and psychology.
Current knowledge of the genetic, epigenetic, behavioural and symbolic systems of inheritance requires a revision and extension of the mid-twentieth-century, gene-based, 'Modern Synthesis' version of Darwinian evolutionary theory. We present the case for this by first outlining the history that led to the neo-Darwinian view of evolution. In the second section we describe and compare different types of inheritance, and in the third discuss the implications of a broad view of heredity for various aspects of evolutionary theory. We end with an examination of the philosophical and conceptual ramifications of evolutionary thinking that incorporates multiple inheritance systems.
Symbiosis is an intimate relationship between different living entities and is widespread in virtually all organisms. It was critical for the origin and diversification of Eukaryotes and represents a major driving force in evolution. Indeed, symbiosis may support a wide range of biological processes, including those underlying the physiology, development, reproduction, health, behavior, ecology and evolution of the organisms involved in the relationship. Although often confused with mutualism, when both organisms benefit from the association, symbiosis actually encompasses several and variable relationships. Among them is parasitism, when one organism benefits but the other is harmed, and commensalism, when one organism benefits and the other remains unaffected. Even if many symbiotic lifestyles do exist in nature, in many cases the intimacy between the partners is so deep that the “symbiont” (sensu strictu) resides into the tissues and/or cells of the other partner. Since the partners frequently belong to different kingdoms, e.g. bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses living in association with animal and plant hosts, their shared “language” should be a basic and ancient form of communication able to effectively blur the boundaries between extremely different living entities. In recent years studies on the role of epigenetics in shaping host-symbiont interactions have been flourishing. Epigenetic changes include, but are not limited to, DNA methylation, remodelling of chromatin structure through histone chemical modifications and RNA interference. In this E-book we present a series of papers exploring the fascinating developmental and evolutionary relationship between symbionts and hosts, by focusing on the mediating epigenetic processes that enable the communication to be effective and robust at both the individual, the ecological and the evolutionary time scales. In particular, the papers consider the role of epigenetic factors and mechanisms in the interactions among different species, comprising the holobiont and host-parasite relationships. On the whole, since epigenetics is fast-acting and reversible, enabling dynamic developmental communication between hosts and symbionts at several different time scale, we argue that it could account for the enormous plasticity that characterizes the interactions between all the organisms living symbiotically on our planet.
A pioneering proposal for a pluralistic extension of evolutionary theory, now updated to reflect the most recent research This updated edition of the widely read Evolution in Four Dimensions has been revised to reflect the spate of new discoveries in biology since the book was first published in 2005, offering corrections, an updated bibliography, and a substantial new chapter. Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb's pioneering argument proposes that there is more to heredity than genes. They describe 4 “dimensions” in heredity—4 inheritance systems that play a role in evolution which, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act: • genetic • epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits) • behavioral • symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication) Jablonka and Lamb present a richer, more complex view of evolution than that offered by the gene-based Modern Synthesis, arguing that induced and acquired changes also play a role. Their lucid and accessible text is accompanied by artist-physician Anna Zeligowski's lively drawings, which humorously and effectively illustrate the authors' points. Each chapter ends with a dialogue in which the authors refine their arguments against the vigorous skepticism of the fictional “I.M.” (for Ipcha Mistabra—Aramaic for “the opposite conjecture”). The extensive new chapter, presented engagingly as a dialogue with I.M., updates the information on each of the 4 dimensions—with special attention to the epigenetic, where there has been an explosion of new research.
Current knowledge of the genetic, epigenetic, behavioural and symbolic systems of inheritance requires a revision and extension of the mid-twentieth-century, gene-based, 'Modern Synthesis' version of Darwinian evolutionary theory. We present the case for this by first outlining the history that led to the neo-Darwinian view of evolution. In the second section we describe and compare different types of inheritance, and in the third discuss the implications of a broad view of heredity for various aspects of evolutionary theory. We end with an examination of the philosophical and conceptual ramifications of evolutionary thinking that incorporates multiple inheritance systems.
Does the inheritance of acquired characteristics play a significant role in evolution? In this book, Eva Jablonka and Marion J. Lamb attempt to answer that question with an original, provocative exploration of the nature and origin of hereditary variations. Starting with a historical account of Lamarck's ideas and the reasons they have fallen in disrepute, the authors go on to challenge the prevailing assumption that all heritable variation is random and the result of variation in DNA base sequences. They also detail recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying inheritance--including several pathways not envisioned by classical population genetics--and argue that these advances need to be more fully incorporated into mainstream evolutionary theory. Throughout, the book offers a new look at the evidence for and against the hereditability of environmentally induced changes, and addresses timely questions about the importance of non-Mendelian inheritance. A glossary and extensive list of references round out the book. Urging a reconsideration of the present DNA-centric view prevalent in the field, Epigentic Inheritance and Evolution will make fascinating and important reading for students and researchers in evolution, genetics, ecology, molecular biology, developmental biology, and the history and philosophy of science.
A new theory about the origins of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the evolutionary transition to basic consciousness. What marked the evolutionary transition from organisms that lacked consciousness to those with consciousness—to minimal subjective experiencing, or, as Aristotle described it, “the sensitive soul”? In this book, Simona Ginsburg and Eva Jablonka propose a new theory about the origin of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the transition to basic consciousness. Using a methodology similar to that used by scientists when they identified the transition from non-life to life, Ginsburg and Jablonka suggest a set of criteria, identify a marker for the transition to minimal consciousness, and explore the far-reaching biological, psychological, and philosophical implications. After presenting the historical, neurobiological, and philosophical foundations of their analysis, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose that the evolutionary marker of basic or minimal consciousness is a complex form of associative learning, which they term unlimited associative learning (UAL). UAL enables an organism to ascribe motivational value to a novel, compound, non-reflex-inducing stimulus or action, and use it as the basis for future learning. Associative learning, Ginsburg and Jablonka argue, drove the Cambrian explosion and its massive diversification of organisms. Finally, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose symbolic language as a similar type of marker for the evolutionary transition to human rationality—to Aristotle's “rational soul.”
The collection of papers in this anthology represents what may be a broad exploration of the role of philosophical inquiry in the classroom and in mathematics teacher education, a topos characterized by multiple, intersecting themes, all of which converge on a central question: what is the role of mathematics in the construction of the realities we live by, and could that role be different if we became aware of its invisible power? In the age of the Anthropocene - an era in which technological intervention plays an ever more central role in the way we build, develop and attempt to maintain our increasingly fragile and risk-prone human and natural world, what are the implications of the hegemonic epistemic status of mathematics in those processes? Does mathematics define the conditions of possibility of all knowledge, whether expressed in a theory or silently invested in a practice? Does or can mathematics and its presumed value-neutrality serve to limit, constrain, suppress, and even preclude other, perhaps more valuable forms of knowledge? Alternatively, can philosophical dialogue about mathematics serve to clarify, unmask, reframe and recreate our understanding of mathematics and its symbolic power in the human and material world, and act as an emancipatory form of knowledge in culture and society? What would such dialogues look like in the mathematics classroom? The papers in this volume address these questions in various contexts and registers, and provide prospective and in-service teachers with compelling and suggestive ways of responding to them. A must-read for math educators everywhere. Nadia Stoyanova Kennedy, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, City University of New York, USA. Eva Marsal, Professor of Philosophy, University of Education, Karlsruhe, Germany & University of Warsaw, Poland.
This book seeks to examine how Sufi thought might provide critical understanding of contemporary life and a pathway towards the recovery of a more meaningful existence. Rumi’s mystical teachings are of great value at a time of rampant materialism and indiscriminate consumerism, and have the potential to illuminate the precarious state of the world, as well as revitalize contemporary social critique, eco-philosophy and bio-semiotics in what is increasingly being regarded as a post-secular age.
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