Darwinian Dynamics
eBook - PDF

Darwinian Dynamics

Evolutionary Transitions in Fitness and Individuality

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Darwinian Dynamics

Evolutionary Transitions in Fitness and Individuality

About this book

The concept of fitness has long been a topic of intense debate among evolutionary biologists and their critics, with its definition and explanatory power coming under attack. In this book, Richard Michod offers a fresh, dynamical interpretation of evolution and fitness concepts. He argues that evolution has no enduring products; what matters is the process of genetic change. Whereas many biologists have focused on competition and aggression as determining factors in survival, Michod, by concentrating on the emergence of individuality at new and more complex levels, finds that cooperation plays even a greater role.


Michod first considers the principles behind the hierarchically nested levels of organization that constitute life: genes, chromosomes, genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, and societies. By examining the evolutionary transitions from the molecular level up to the whole organism, the author explains how cooperation and conflict in a multilevel setting leads to new levels of fitness. He builds a model of fitness drawing on recent developments in ecology and multilevel selection theory and on new explanations of the origin of life. Michod concludes with a discussion of the philosophical implications of his theory of fitness, a theory that addresses the most fundamental and unique concept in all of biology.

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Yes, you can access Darwinian Dynamics by Richard E. Michod in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Evolution. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Half-title Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication Page
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Chapter 1: The Language of Selection
  10. Chapter 2: Origin of Fitness
  11. Chapter 3: The First Individuals
  12. Chapter 4: Evolution of Interactions
  13. Chapter 5: Multilevel Selection of the Organism
  14. Chapter 6: Rediscovering Individuality
  15. Chapter 7: Fitness Explanations
  16. Chapter 8: A Philosophy of Fitness
  17. Appendix A: Supporting Analyses
  18. Appendix B: Fitness Phrases
  19. Appendix C: Notation
  20. Notes
  21. References
  22. Index