Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

Evolution "On Purpose"

Teleonomy in Living Systems

Part of Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology

Edited by Peter A. Corning, Stuart A. Kauffman, Denis Noble, James A. Shapiro, Richard I. Vane-Wright
Look inside
Paperback
$75.00 US
The MIT Press
On sale Aug 22, 2023 | 390 Pages | 9780262546409
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
A unique exploration of teleonomy—also known as “evolved purposiveness”—as a major influence in evolution by a broad range of specialists in biology and the philosophy of science.

The evolved purposiveness of living systems, termed “teleonomy” by chronobiologist Colin Pittendrigh, has been both a major outcome and causal factor in the history of life on Earth.  Many theorists have appreciated this over the years, going back to Lamarck and even Darwin in the nineteenth century. In the mid-twentieth century, however, the complex, dynamic process of evolution was simplified into the one-way, bottom-up, single gene-centered paradigm widely known as the modern synthesis. In Evolution “On Purpose,” edited by Peter A. Corning, Stuart A. Kauffman, Denis Noble, James A. Shapiro, Richard I. Vane-Wright, and Addy Pross, some twenty theorists attempt to modify this reductive approach by exploring in depth the different ways in which living systems have themselves shaped the course of evolution.
Evolution “On Purpose” puts forward a more inclusive theoretical synthesis that goes far beyond the underlying principles and assumptions of the modern synthesis to accommodate work since the 1950s in molecular genetics, developmental biology, epigenetic inheritance, genomics, multilevel selection, niche construction, physiology, behavior, biosemiotics, chemical reaction theory, and other fields. In the view of the authors, active biological processes are responsible for the direction and the rate of evolution. Essays in this collection grapple with topics from the two-way “read-write” genome to cognition and decision-making in plants to the niche-construction activities of many organisms to the self-making evolution of humankind.  As this collection compellingly shows, and as bacterial geneticist James Shapiro emphasizes, “The capacity of living organisms to alter their own heredity is undeniable.”
Series Foreword vii
Preface ix
1 Introduction 1
Peter A. Corning, Stuart A. Kauffman, Denis Noble, James A. Shapiro, Richard I. Vane-Wright, and Addy Pross
2 Teleonomy in Evolution: "The Ghost in the Machine" 11
Peter A. Corning
3 Cellular Basis of Cognition in Evolution: From Protists and Fungi Up to Animals, Plants, and Root-Fungal Networks 33
Frantisek Baluska, William B. Miller Jr., and Arthur S. Reber 
4 Constructing "On Purpose": How Niche Construction Affects Natural Selection 59
Dominik Deffner
5 Relational Agency: A New Ontology for Coevolving Systems 79
Francis Heylighen
6 Teleonomic Anticipatory Configurations in Biological Evolution: The Downward Dynamical Nature of Goal-Directedness 105
Abir U. Igamberdiev
7 From Teleonomy to Mentally Driven Goal-Directed Behavior: Evolutionary Considerations 119
Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg
8 Beyond the Newtonian Paradigm: A Statistical Mechanics of Emergence 141
Stuart A. Kauffman and Andrea Roli
9 On the Concept of Meaning in Biology 161
Kalevi Kull
10 Collective Intelligence of Morphogenesis as a Teleonomic Process 175
Michael Levin
11 Form, Function, Agency: Sources of Natural Purpose in Animal Evolution 199
Stuart A. Newman
12 How Purposive Agency Became Banned from Evolutionary Biology 221
Denis Noble and Raymond Noble
13 Goal Attributions in Biology: Objective Fact, Anthropomorphic Bias, or Valuable Heuristic? 237
Samir Okasha
14 Toward the Physicalization of Biology: Seeking the Chemical Origin of Cognition 257
Robert Pascal and Addy Pross
15 Evolutionary Change Is Naturally Biological and Purposeful 275
James A. Shapiro 
16 Agency, Teleonomy, Purpose, and Evolutionary Change in Plant Systems 299
Anthony Trewavas 
17 Agency, Goal Orientation, and Evolutionary Explanations 325
Tobias Uller
18 Evolutionary Foundationalism: The Myth of the Chemical Given 341
Denis M. Walsh
Contributors 363
Index 365

About

A unique exploration of teleonomy—also known as “evolved purposiveness”—as a major influence in evolution by a broad range of specialists in biology and the philosophy of science.

The evolved purposiveness of living systems, termed “teleonomy” by chronobiologist Colin Pittendrigh, has been both a major outcome and causal factor in the history of life on Earth.  Many theorists have appreciated this over the years, going back to Lamarck and even Darwin in the nineteenth century. In the mid-twentieth century, however, the complex, dynamic process of evolution was simplified into the one-way, bottom-up, single gene-centered paradigm widely known as the modern synthesis. In Evolution “On Purpose,” edited by Peter A. Corning, Stuart A. Kauffman, Denis Noble, James A. Shapiro, Richard I. Vane-Wright, and Addy Pross, some twenty theorists attempt to modify this reductive approach by exploring in depth the different ways in which living systems have themselves shaped the course of evolution.
Evolution “On Purpose” puts forward a more inclusive theoretical synthesis that goes far beyond the underlying principles and assumptions of the modern synthesis to accommodate work since the 1950s in molecular genetics, developmental biology, epigenetic inheritance, genomics, multilevel selection, niche construction, physiology, behavior, biosemiotics, chemical reaction theory, and other fields. In the view of the authors, active biological processes are responsible for the direction and the rate of evolution. Essays in this collection grapple with topics from the two-way “read-write” genome to cognition and decision-making in plants to the niche-construction activities of many organisms to the self-making evolution of humankind.  As this collection compellingly shows, and as bacterial geneticist James Shapiro emphasizes, “The capacity of living organisms to alter their own heredity is undeniable.”

Table of Contents

Series Foreword vii
Preface ix
1 Introduction 1
Peter A. Corning, Stuart A. Kauffman, Denis Noble, James A. Shapiro, Richard I. Vane-Wright, and Addy Pross
2 Teleonomy in Evolution: "The Ghost in the Machine" 11
Peter A. Corning
3 Cellular Basis of Cognition in Evolution: From Protists and Fungi Up to Animals, Plants, and Root-Fungal Networks 33
Frantisek Baluska, William B. Miller Jr., and Arthur S. Reber 
4 Constructing "On Purpose": How Niche Construction Affects Natural Selection 59
Dominik Deffner
5 Relational Agency: A New Ontology for Coevolving Systems 79
Francis Heylighen
6 Teleonomic Anticipatory Configurations in Biological Evolution: The Downward Dynamical Nature of Goal-Directedness 105
Abir U. Igamberdiev
7 From Teleonomy to Mentally Driven Goal-Directed Behavior: Evolutionary Considerations 119
Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg
8 Beyond the Newtonian Paradigm: A Statistical Mechanics of Emergence 141
Stuart A. Kauffman and Andrea Roli
9 On the Concept of Meaning in Biology 161
Kalevi Kull
10 Collective Intelligence of Morphogenesis as a Teleonomic Process 175
Michael Levin
11 Form, Function, Agency: Sources of Natural Purpose in Animal Evolution 199
Stuart A. Newman
12 How Purposive Agency Became Banned from Evolutionary Biology 221
Denis Noble and Raymond Noble
13 Goal Attributions in Biology: Objective Fact, Anthropomorphic Bias, or Valuable Heuristic? 237
Samir Okasha
14 Toward the Physicalization of Biology: Seeking the Chemical Origin of Cognition 257
Robert Pascal and Addy Pross
15 Evolutionary Change Is Naturally Biological and Purposeful 275
James A. Shapiro 
16 Agency, Teleonomy, Purpose, and Evolutionary Change in Plant Systems 299
Anthony Trewavas 
17 Agency, Goal Orientation, and Evolutionary Explanations 325
Tobias Uller
18 Evolutionary Foundationalism: The Myth of the Chemical Given 341
Denis M. Walsh
Contributors 363
Index 365

Additional formats

  • Evolution "On Purpose"
    Evolution "On Purpose"
    Teleonomy in Living Systems
    9780262376020
    Ebook
    The MIT Press
    Aug 22, 2023
  • Evolution "On Purpose"
    Evolution "On Purpose"
    Teleonomy in Living Systems
    9780262376020
    Ebook
    The MIT Press
    Aug 22, 2023

Other books in this series

Related Articles

Literature

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

Literature
Literature Gender and Sexuality Studies Sociology

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

Literature Gender and Sexuality Studies Sociology
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)