Neo-rationalism versus neo-Darwinism: Integrating development and evolution

Abstract

An increasing number of biologists are expressing discontent with the prevailing theory of neo-Darwinism. In particular, the tendency of neo-Darwinians to adopt genetic determinism and atomistic notions of both genes and organisms is seen as grossly unfair to the body of developmental theory. One faction of dissenters, the Process Structuralists, take their inspiration from the rational morphologists who preceded Darwin. These "neo-rationalists" argue that a mature biology must possess universal laws and that these "generative laws" should be sought within organismal development. Such a rational biology will only be possible once the neo-Darwinian paradigm, with its reliance on inherently stochastic processes, is overthrown.To facilitate this revolution, process structuralism launches a broad attack on the theoretical adequacy of its opponent. It is charged that neo-Darwinism is untestable and therefore its hypotheses are nothing more than adaptive stories. Further, the lamentable tendencies toward genetic determinism and atomism by modem biologists is seen as the inescapable consequences of adopting the neo-Darwinian outlook.I allow that neo-Darwinism is untestable but argue that this does not pose a major difficulty for the theory. Further, it is not clear to what extent genetic determinism and atomism result from sloppy methodology as opposed to fundamental theoretical commitments. But the process structuralist critique does reveal some deep-seated problems with orthodox evolutionary theory and some of its suggestions may be employed to good effect.

Incorporación de la anatomía comparada a estudios de introducción a la medicina.

“…El estructuralismo (Webster & Goodwin 1982, Goodwin 1982, Smith 1992 tendría sus raíces en la morfología transcendental del siglo diecinueve. La morfología transcendental, practicada por un importante grupo de biólogos (Oken, Tiedemann, Meckel y von Baer en Alemania, Owen en Inglaterra, y Cuvier y Geoffroy St. Hilaire en Francia, por citar a los principales) influidos por la filosofía idealista alemana de la Naturphilosphie, fundamentada a su vez, sobre las ideas de Goethe, Schelling y Kant, consideraba que el mundo animal puede ordenarse en unos pocos tipos básicos o patrones abstractos, consistentes en un arreglo de partes de relaciones topológicamente constantes.…”

Natures, Human Nature, Genes and Souls: Reclaiming Theological Anthropology Through Biological Structuralism

“…47 This school of biological thought believed that an understanding of the developmental process is fundamental to any explanation of adult morphological form. 48 The rational morphologists analyzed organisms, not as collections of discrete 'parts', but rather as integrated systems or dynamic interactive wholes, and they desired to establish a "rational taxonomy" based on general laws of organic form. 49 The rational morphologists were interested in natural order and in the hidden, abstract, unity underlying organic diversity, as opposed to particular concrete biological 'events'-the focus of the teleology/design-based tradition of British Natural Theology, the scientific tradition from which Darwinism emerged, and to which Darwin himself properly belongs.…”

The extended replicator

“…Johnston 1987. Griesemer forthcoming and Smith 1992and 1993a defend some of the their distinctive negative theses but not their ositive ones.…”