Individual Development and Evolution: The Genesis of Novel Behavior

248 pages. dj chipped, text ffep in pencilThe concept of individual development has played two very different roles in the history of ideas concerning the evolution of species. In Darwin's time, indi vidual development was believed to recapitulate the history of the species. This meant that each evolutionary novelty was added on at the end of individual deve lopment in the preceding species. If this were so, as Darwin and others believed , development would be like a motion picture revealing the sequence of a species ' evolutionary history. In the 1920s, however, this view shifted to one stressin g that early, not late, somatic changes in individual development were responsib le for evolution, and many believed these changes were caused by genetic mutatio ns and recombinations. With these views as background, Gottlieb here presents a behavioral theory of evolutionary change that is not dependent on genetic mutati on or genetic recombination in its initial stages. Using evidence of the large, untapped, already existing genetic-developmental potential in all species, Gottl ieb proposes that developmentally wrought changes in behavior can lead to the ev olution of somatic novelties prior to genetic change. Some of these documented b ehavioral changes include heightened exploratory tendencies, increased resistanc e to stress, and enhanced problem-solving skills. Written in a scholarly but non technical manner, this book will appeal not only to developmental and comparativ e psychologists, ethologists, and developmental neuroscientists, but also to lay persons interested in behavioral science, evolutionary theory, and the history o f modern scientific thought.…