Authors:
- Synthesizes material from many disciplines including zoology, comparative physiology and ethology
- Provides a systems biology perspective on an interdisciplinary topic
- Examines a fundamental question in evolutionary biology
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences (HPTL, volume 5)
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Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This volume describes features of autonomy and integrates them into the recent discussion of factors in evolution. In recent years ideas about major transitions in evolution are undergoing a revolutionary change. They include questions about the origin of evolutionary innovation, their genetic and epigenetic background, the role of the phenotype and of changes in ontogenetic pathways. In the present book, it is argued that it is likewise necessary to question the properties of these innovations and what was qualitatively generated during the macroevolutionary transitions.
The author states that a recurring central aspect of macroevolutionary innovations is an increase in individual organismal autonomy whereby it is emancipated from the environment with changes in its capacity for flexibility, self-regulation and self-control of behavior.
The first chapters define the concept of autonomy and examine its history and its epistemological context. Later chapters demonstrate how changes in autonomy took place during the major evolutionary transitions and investigate the generation of organs and physiological systems. They synthesize material from various disciplines including zoology, comparative physiology, morphology, molecular biology, neurobiology and ethology. It is argued that the concept is also relevant for understanding the relation of the biological evolution of man to his cultural abilities.
Finally the relation of autonomy to adaptation, niche construction, phenotypic plasticity and other factors and patterns in evolution is discussed. The text has a clear perspective from the context of systems biology, arguing that the generation of biological autonomy must be interpreted within an integrative systems approach.
Keywords
- Biological autonomy
- Biological autonomy and integrative systems approach
- Cambrian explosion
- Evolution of brains and behavior
- Evolutionary innovations
- Extended evolutionary synthesis
- Fluid management in animals
- Increasing autonomy in evolution
- Macroevolution
- Macroevolutionary innovations
- Macroevolutionary trends
- Major transitions in evolution
- Nervous systems and the flexibility of movements
- Organismic biology
- Systems biology
Reviews
“The core of Rosslenbroich’s book is a series of chapters examining the evolutionary trajectory of autonomy in more detail, through the lenses of history and function. The depth of the treatment of evidence is remarkable, his command of principles and facts of anatomy and physiology enviable.” (Daniel W. McShea, Biology & Philosophy, Vol. 30 (3), May, 2015)
“The volume explores the nature of biological autonomy and its application to understanding major evolutionary trends. … this is an important book that deserves to play a role in the reforming of an updated evolutionary synthesis; it will appeal to evolutionary biologists, philosophers of science, and even zoologists who will accordingly reconsider morphological, anatomical, physiological, and behavioral features of animal life in a new, dynamic context.” (Mark Riegner, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 90 (1), March, 2015)
“I recommend the book as a fine blend of thought-provoking holism, built around a conscientious survey of the deeper implications of dynamic systems and process thinking, essential to revise our still-too-static view of biology, and incorporate a mature understanding of autonomy.” (Martin Lockley, Acta Biotheoretica, August, 2014)Authors and Affiliations
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Zentrum für biomedizinische Ausbildung und Forschung Fakultät für Gesundheit, University of Witten/Herdecke, Institut für Evolutionsbiologie und Morphologie, Witten, Germany
Bernd Rosslenbroich
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: On the Origin of Autonomy
Book Subtitle: A New Look at the Major Transitions in Evolution
Authors: Bernd Rosslenbroich
Series Title: History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04141-4
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-04140-7Published: 30 April 2014
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-35386-9Published: 03 September 2016
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-04141-4Published: 15 April 2014
Series ISSN: 2211-1948
Series E-ISSN: 2211-1956
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 297
Number of Illustrations: 61 b/w illustrations
Topics: Philosophy of Biology, Evolutionary Biology, History of Science