"Holistic Darwinism" as a Post-Neo-Darwinian Paradigm
Corning, P. A.
Institute for the Study of Complex Systems, 119 Bryant St. Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
Holistic Darwinism is not an oxymoron. It is a candidate name for a post-neo-Darwinian paradigm. It does not involve a different theory but rather a different perspective on the evolutionary process. The focus is on the "bioeconomics" -- the functional costs and benefits -- of cooperative phenomena of all kinds and at all levels of biological organization. A key concept is "synergistic selection" -- the differential survival and reproduction of functionally-interdependent units, or parts (and their genes). The reason why synergistic selection cannot be reduced to individual or genic selection is that the selection of a given unit is dependent upon the emergent properties of the "whole"; take away any part and the whole will be adversely affected. Many hypotheses have been advanced to explain the evolution of complexity -- an undisputed trend if not a "law". Holistic Darwinism focusses on the causal role of functional synergy. There have been many "engines" of evolutionary change, but the engine is nothing without the car.
| LOCATION |
DATE |
TIME |
| Lecture Hall II |
Monday, April 6 |
09:50 am |