How the Leopard Changed Its Spots: The Evolution of Complexity

by Brian Goodwin

Overview

Do genes explain life? Can advances in evolutionary and molecular biology account for what we look like, how we behave, and why we die? In this powerful intervention into current biological thinking, Brian Goodwin argues that such genetic reductionism has important limits.


Drawing on the sciences of complexity, the author shows how an understanding of the self-organizing patterns of networks is necessary for making sense of nature. Genes are important, but only as part of a process constrained by environment, physical laws, and the universal tendencies of complex adaptive systems. In a new preface for this edition, Goodwin reflects on the advances in both genetics and the sciences of complexity since the book's original publication.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691217802
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Series:	Princeton Science Library , #24
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	275
File size:	20 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Brian Goodwin is Professor of Biology and Coordinator of Holistic Science at Schumacher College, Devon, UK. He is the editor of Theoretical Biology: Epigenetic and Evolutionary Order from Complex Systems and the coauthor of Form and Transformation and Signs of Life.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Princeton Science Library Edition vii

Preface xi

Acknowledgements xix

Chapter 1 Whatever Happened to Organisms? 1

Chapter 2 How the Leopard Got Its Spots 18

Chapter 3 Life, the Excitable Medium 42

Chapter 4 Living Form in the Making 77

Chapter 5 The Evolution of Generic Forms 115

Chapter 6 New Directions, New metaphors 169

Chapter 7 A Science of Qualities 196

References 238

Further Reading 242

Index 245

What People are Saying About This

Simon Levin

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

From the Publisher

"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

"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

Editorial Reviews

[Goodwin's] book genuinely illuminates the mysteries of biological development.
— New York Times

David Papineau

"Survival of the fittest" has become a popular modern slogan. Ever since the publication of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection in 1859, this perspective has dominated biology and influenced corporate planning, politics, and other arenas. Goodwin, a biologist, demonstrates the flaws in the quasi-religious fervous with which Darwin's theory is defended and elucidates its weaknesses, proposing a sophisticated alternative which synthesizes biology with dynamic theories from other sciences. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"[Goodwin's] book genuinely illuminates the mysteries of biological development."—-David Papineau, New York Times

From the Publisher

[Goodwin's] book genuinely illuminates the mysteries of biological development.

New York Times - David Papineau

[Goodwin's] book genuinely illuminates the mysteries of biological development.
— David Papineau

New York Times