The Triple Helix. Gene, Organism, And Environment - Hardcover

Lewontin, Richard

 
9780674001596: The Triple Helix. Gene, Organism, And Environment
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0674001591 ISBN 13: 9780674001596
Verlag: Harvard University Press, 2000

Inhaltsangabe

"The trouble with the general scheme of explanation contained in the metaphor of development is that it is bad biology. If we had the complete DNA sequence of an organism and unlimited computational power, we could not compute the organism, because the organism does not compute itself from its genes. Any computer that did as poor a job of computation as an organism does from its genetic 'program' would be immediately thrown into the trash and its manufacturer would be sued by the purchaser. Of course it is true that lions look different from lambs and chimps from humans because they have different genes, and a satisfactory explanation for the differences between lions, lambs, chimps, and us need not involve other causal factors. But if we want to know why two lambs are different from one another, a description of their genetic differences is insufficient and for some of their characteristics may even be irrelevant." "Darwin's alienation of the outside from the inside was an absolutely essential step in the development of modem biology. Without it, we would still be wallowing in the mire of an obscurantist holism that merged the organic and the inorganic into an unanalyzable whole. But the conditions that are necessary for progress at one stage in history become bars to further progress at another. The time has come when further progress in our understanding of nature requires that we reconsider the relationship between the outside and the inside, between organism and environment."

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Críticas

Whatever the reader's views, these essays are worth reading for their brilliant, if sometimes partisan, criticisms. Lewontin's style is remarkably clear considering the complex nature of some of his arguments. Recommended.--Marit MacArthur "Library Journal "

Reseña del editor

One of our most brilliant evolutionary biologists, Richard Lewontin has also been a leading critic of those - scientists and non-scientists alike - who would misuse the science to which he has contributed so much. In this book, the author the scientist, and the critic come together to provide a concise, accessible account of what his work has taught him about biology and about its relevance to human affairs. In the process, he exposes some of the common and troubling misconceptions that misdirect and stall our understanding of biology and evolution. The central message of this book is that we will never fully understand living things if we continue to think of genes, organisms, and environments as separate entities, each with its distinct role to play in the history and operation of organic processes. here Lewontin shows that an organisms is a unique consequence of both genes and environment, of both internal and external features. rejecting the notion that genes determine the organism, which then adapts to the environment, he explains that organisms, influenced in their development by their circumstances, in turn create, modify, and chose the environment in which they live.

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Verlag
Harvard University Press
Erscheinungsdatum
2000
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0674001591
ISBN 13 
9780674001596
Einband
Tapa dura
Anzahl der Seiten
136
Kontakt zum Hersteller
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Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  0674006771 ISBN 13:  9780674006775
Verlag: Harvard University Press, 2002
Softcover