Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Hopeful monsters: Hopeful monsters in evolution theory are organisms with a profound mutant phenotype that have the potential to establish a new evolutionary lineage. They are often seen as a driving force behind macroevolution, or large-scale changes in the fossil record. See also Evolution, Selection, Mutation, Darwinism._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Stephen Jay Gould on Hopeful Monsters - Dictionary of Arguments
I 197/198 Hopeful Monsters/Gould: as followers of Darwin, Gould defends Goldschmidt's postulate that macro evolution is not simply the accumulation of many micro-evolutions. Three questions: 1. Can a reasonable representation be drawn up for a continuous change of all macro evolutionary events? Gould: No. 2. Are theories of abrupt changes anti-Darwinian? Gould: Some are, others are not. 3. Are Goldschmidt's promising monsters anti Darwinian? Gould: No. Question: What are the possible benefits of the incomplete initial stages of useful structures? What is the use of a half jaw or wing? The answer is given by the term Definition preadaption: preadaption is derived from the thesis that other functions would be fulfilled in the initial stages. E.g. Half a jaw could support the gills. Half a wing may have been used to catch prey, or to control body temperature. Gould: the concept of preadaptation is indispensable, but it is not appropriate to demonstrate continuity in all cases>Evolution._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Gould I Stephen Jay Gould The Panda’s Thumb. More Reflections in Natural History, New York 1980 German Edition: Der Daumen des Panda Frankfurt 2009 Gould II Stephen Jay Gould Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes. Further Reflections in Natural History, New York 1983 German Edition: Wie das Zebra zu seinen Streifen kommt Frankfurt 1991 Gould III Stephen Jay Gould Full House. The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin, New York 1996 German Edition: Illusion Fortschritt Frankfurt 2004 Gould IV Stephen Jay Gould The Flamingo’s Smile. Reflections in Natural History, New York 1985 German Edition: Das Lächeln des Flamingos Basel 1989 |
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> Counter arguments against Gould
> Counter arguments in relation to Hopeful Monsters
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-28