Dear Mr Darwin Letters on the Evolution of Life and Human Nature.

[Darwin, Charles] Dover, Gabriel.

ISBN 10: 0297842595 / ISBN 13: 9780297842590

Published by London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000

About this Item

16 cm x 24 cm. XVI, 268 pages with illustrations. Original Hardcover with dustjacket in protective mylar. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Includes for example the following contents:- The Twin Peaks / The Rise and Fall of the Mobile P Gene / When is an Adaptation Not an Adaptation? / The Ignorant Gene / Is Dawkins aware of the Error of His Ways? / Genetic Turnover; Of Course, Of Course / Molecular Drive for Advanced Players etc. "Dear Mr Darwin - You might find it presumptious of me, if not a little macabre, that I should take up my pen and write to you more than a hundred years after your death. But I'm encouraged to do so because it is on record that you yourself wrote almost fourteen thousand letters on scientific issues, many of which I expect were answers to unsolicited correspondence. Despite the gulf that separates us in time and means, I know that this letter will arouse your scientific interests, for it touches on some of the central issues with which you wrestled all your life.' Thus begins an imagined correspondence between the geneticist Gabriel Dover and Charles Darwin on the surprising findings of modern genetics and their influence on the evolution of biological novelties, from genes to organisms. Stimulated by Darwin's relatively uninformed but obviously intelligent questions, Dover takes the father of natural selection on an exhilerating roller-coaster ride through the 'new genetics'. In recounting stories from the treasure-trove of modern biology, Dover exposes the naively deterministic view of selfish genes and their supposed lonely pursuits of self-replication and self-immortalization. He reveals a world of evolution far more intricate and subtle than can be expected from the notion of natural selection acting alone - a world in which genes are born to cooperate. Set against a backdrop of cultural references ranging from the late poet Ted Hughes, through the music of Captain Beefheart, to the current ethnic crisis in the Balkans, this trenchant, humorous and literate correspondence presents a startlingly original view of development and evolution that puts the individual organisms centre-stage".(Amazon).

Seller Inventory # 78242AB

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dear Mr Darwin Letters on the Evolution of Life and Human Nature.
• Publisher: London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0297842595
• ISBN 13: 9780297842590
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Sehr gut
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Weight: 1200 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Varia

About this title

Synopsis

Dear Mr. Darwin, You may find it presumptuous of me, if not a little macabre, that I should take up my pen & write to you more than 100 years after death . . . So begins a correspondence -- from a 21st-century geneticist to the author of On the Origin of Species, first published in 1859 -- debating the surprising findings of modern genetics & their influence on the evolution of biological novelties, from genes to organisms to human nature. Author Dover sets up a lively & stimulating discourse. From junk DNA & selfish genes to the position of the individual organism at evolution s center-stage, this book illuminates some of the most complex theories of contemporary biology & Dover s own original view of evolution in a uniquely compelling & readable way.