Adaptation and Natural Selection: A Critique of Some Current Evolutionary Thought - Hardcover

Williams, George Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691079005 ISBN 13: 9780691079004

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1966

Synopsis

Biological evolution is a fact--but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. In 1966, simple Darwinism, which holds that evolution functions primarily at the level of the individual organism, was threatened by opposing concepts such as group selection, a popular idea stating that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. George Williams's famous argument in favor of the Darwinists struck a powerful blow to those in opposing camps. His Adaptation and Natural Selection, now a classic of science literature, is a thorough and convincing essay in defense of Darwinism; its suggestions for developing effective principles for dealing with the evolution debate and its relevance to many fields outside biology ensure the timelessness of this critical work.

About this title

About the Author:

George C. Williams is Emeritus Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Review:

"This is an exciting, significant, and important work.... On the whole it will have a very beneficial influence on biology with a rich supply of subjects and targets for some years to come.... This is a carefully constructed, carefully written scholarly work, in the best sense of these words."---L. B. Slobodkin, The Quarterly Review of Biology

"A beautifully written and excellently reasoned essay in defense of Darwinian selection as a sufficient theory to explain evolution without the necessity of group selection, population adaptation, or progress."---R. C. Lewontin, Science

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1966
• ISBN 10: 0691079005
• ISBN 13: 9780691079004
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320