What Darwin Got Wrong

Jerry Fodor, Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781846682216
• eBook ISBN: 9781847651907
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Evolution
• Index: Biological Sciences

Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piatelli-Palmarini, a distinguished philosopher and scientist working in tandem, reveal major flaws at the heart of Darwinian evolutionary theory. They do not deny Darwin's status as an outstanding scientist but question the inferences he drew from his observations. Combining the results of cutting-edge work in experimental biology with crystal-clear philosophical argument they mount a devastating critique of the central tenets of Darwin's account of the origin of species. The logic underlying natural selection is the survival of the fittest under changing environmental pressure. This logic, they argue, is mistaken. They back up the claim with evidence of what actually happens in nature.

This is a rare achievement - the short book that is likely to make a great deal of difference to a very large subject. What Darwin Got Wrong will be controversial. The authors' arguments will reverberate through the scientific world. At the very least they will transform the debate about evolution.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Terms of engagement
• 1 What kind of theory is the theory of natural selection?
• Part one The biological argument
• 2 Internal constraints: what the new biology tells us
• 3 Whole genomes, networks, modules and other complexities
• 4 Many constraints, many environments
• 5 The return of the laws of form
• Part two The conceptual situation
• 6 Many are called but few are chosen: the problem of ‘selection.forf
• 7 No exit? Some responses to the problem of ‘selection-for’
• 8 Did the dodo lose its ecological niche? Or was it the other way around?
• 9 Summary and postlude
• Appendix
• Notes
• References