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  3. Ancestors in Evolutionary Biology
  • Cited by 8
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
July 2022
Print publication year:
2022
Online ISBN:
9781316226667
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316226667
Subjects:
Life Sciences, Evolutionary Biology, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, Zoology
Series:
Systematics Association Special Volume Series
Information

Book description

Phylogenetics emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as a speculative storytelling discipline dedicated to providing narrative explanations for the evolution of taxa and their traits. It coincided with lineage thinking, a process that mentally traces character evolution along lineages of hypothetical ancestors. Ancestors in Evolutionary Biology traces the history of narrative phylogenetics and lineage thinking to the present day, drawing on perspectives from the history of science, philosophy of science, and contemporary scientific debates. It shows how the power of phylogenetic hypotheses to explain evolution resides in the precursor traits of hypothetical ancestors. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the topic of ancestors, which is central to modern biology, and is therefore of interest to graduate students, researchers, and academics in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, philosophy of science, and the history of science.

Reviews

'Recommended.'

E. Delson Source: Choice

‘A valuable volume for those looking for a complete but accessible history of the origins of systematics and the study of animal form. The book is particularly strong on tracing the idea of ancestors from its from its pre-Darwinian conception to a late 20th-century cladistic interpretation. I can easily imagine this volume complementing a graduate seminar on the evolution of animal body plans.’

Stuart F. McDaniel Source: The Quarterly Review of Biology

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