How the Leopard Changed Its Spots: Evolution of Complexity

Goodwin, B. C.

ISBN 10: 0297814990 / ISBN 13: 9780297814993

Published by Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated, 1994

About this Item

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Seller Inventory # wbs3041026147

Bibliographic Details

• Title: How the Leopard Changed Its Spots: Evolution of Complexity
• Publisher: Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0297814990
• ISBN 13: 9780297814993
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 550 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Darwin's concept of the origin of species by natural selection has been a spectacularly successful and durable scientific theory. But it actually fails in a basic objective, which is to explain the origins of the qualitative differences of structure between species. Life on Earth is described purely in historical terms, with no explanation of how different forms of organisms are generated. This is like saying that the Earth's orbit round the sun just happened to be elliptical, without any explanation of why that must be so because of the laws of dynamic motion. Goodwin's view of biology is radically different. He proposes that any organism is a dynamic self-organizing process that obeys certain principles of order. This offers answers to problems that Darwinism with its emphasis on genes and natural selection as determinants of biological form cannot answer. Goodwin describes how particular forms emerge and persist in different types of organism: examples include the leaf pattern of higher plants and the origin of the eye. Once the basic mechanisms of development are understood, these particular forms become self-explanatory.

From the Back Cover

"This is a brilliant book, wonderfully written. . . . Goodwin is a real scholar, of great breadth and insight. He writes beautifully, conveying difficult themes in an exciting manner."--Simon Levin, Princeton University