You are hereThe Cambridge Companion to Darwin, second editionCambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. 548 pages. Reviewer John S. Wilkins writes, “As the sesquicentenary of Darwin’s Origin of Species in 2009 showed, there is an enormous amount of material one might have to become familiar with if one wants to have an informed view of Darwin, and so a standard reference book is required. This is that book — the second edition of the volume, updated somewhat and with new essays. Defining DarwinAmherst (NY): Prometheus Books, 2009. 271 pages. According to reviewer Brian Regal, “Defining Darwin is another in a long line of works geared towards general audiences to help them understand the various complex issues involved in evolutionary studies and history. Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards?Amherst (NY): Prometheus Books, 2011. 225 pages. Elliott Sober’s Did Darwin Write the Origin>cite> Backwards? contains five chapters, reviewer Doren Recker explains: “on: (1) the Transformations of LamarckismCambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2011. 432 pages. “The central message of the volume is that a Lamarckian perspective should be taken into account in biology in order to produce a new evolutionary synthesis that would describe and explain the biological world better than the classical theory of evolution,” writes reviewer Francesca Merlin. Evolutionary Theory: Five QuestionsCopenhagen, Denmark: Automatic Press, 2009. 245 pages. “The book asks the same five questions of well-known people doing work in (or directly connected to) evolutionary theory, and the reader is then privy to the part-informative, part-explanatory, part-argumentative, and even part-sentimental reflections of these people,” reviewer Robert Arp explains. Evolution: The Extended SynthesisCambridge [MA]: MIT Press, 2010. 504
pages. According to reviewer Anya Plutynski, “This engaging volume surveys novel empirical and theoretical advances in biology since the Modern Synthesis, some of which add to, and some challenge, its central tenets.” The project is to extend the synthesis to include patterns and processes often considered to be at the margins of the theory, such as epigenetic inheritance, niche inheritance, facilitated variations, plasticity, and evolvability; the review focuses on the last two of these. Plutyns Time MattersOxford:
Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. 269 pages. Time Matters describes the development of, and the controversies surrounding, the concept of geologic time, with a focus on events in Britain. Evolutionary Theory and the Creation ControversyBerlin: Springer, 2011. 204 pages. Despite its title, reviewer J. BiophiliaCambridge (MA): Harvard University Press, 1984. 157 pages. Biophilia, Wilson writes, “I will be so bold as to define as the innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes. ... I will make the case that to explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion, our existence depends on this propensity, our spirit is woven from it, hope rises on its currents.” “Wilson’s own empathy with things illuminates these essays with fresh perceptions of everyday matters,” writes the reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. Consilience: The Unity of KnowledgeNew York: Vintage, 1999. 384 pages. A provocative and controversial book, Consilience explains that “With the aid of the scientific method, we have gained an encompassing view of the physical world far beyond the dreams of earlier generation,” and announces, “The great adventure is now beginning to turn inward, toward ourselves,” as Wilson argues for all forms of inquiry — including ethics, art, and religion — to be based on and subsumed within science. Freeman Dyson writes, “The book is a major contribution to philosophy, whether you agree with it or not. ... Pages
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Voices for Evolution Staff Publications  by Eugenie C. Scott  edited by Eugenie C. Scott and Glenn Branch  by Peter M. J. Hess and Paul L. Allen |
