Alfred Russel Wallace's Theory of Intelligent Evolution

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780981520445
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Alfred Russel Wallace's Theory of Intelligent Evolution by : Michael A. Flannery

Download or read book Alfred Russel Wallace's Theory of Intelligent Evolution written by Michael A. Flannery and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), co-discoverer of natural selection, was second only to Charles Darwin as the 19th century's most noted English naturalist. Yet his belief in spiritualism caused him to be ridiculed and dismissed by many. Though based upon very different formulations of natural selection, the Wallace/Darwin dispute as presented by Flannery shows a metaphysical clash of worldviews coextensive with modern evolutionary theory itself.

In the Light of Evolution

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Publisher : Sackler Colloquium
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis In the Light of Evolution by : National Academy of Sciences

Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by Sackler Colloquium. This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Intelligent Evolution

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Publisher : Erasmus Press
ISBN 13 : 1645427056
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (454 download)

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Book Synopsis Intelligent Evolution by : Michael A. Flannery

Download or read book Intelligent Evolution written by Michael A. Flannery and published by Erasmus Press. This book was released on 2020-08-12 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), co-discoverer of natural selection, was second only to Charles Darwin as the 19th century’s most noted English naturalist. Yet his belief in spiritualism caused him to be ridiculed and dismissed by many, leaving him a comparatively obscure and misunderstood figure. In this volume Wallace is finally allowed to speak in his own defense through his grand evolutionary synthesis The World of Life published over a century ago in 1910. More than just a reprinting of a near-forgotten work, Michael A. Flannery places Wallace in historical context and includes the very latest historiography relating to both Darwin and Wallace in his detailed introduction. Flannery exposes Charles Darwin’s now-famous theory of evolution as little more than a naturalistic cover for an extreme philosophical materialism borrowed as a youth from Edinburgh radicals. This is juxtaposed by his sympathetic account of what he calls Wallace’s intelligent evolution, a thoroughly teleological alternative to Darwin’s stochastic processes. Though based upon very different formulations of natural selection, the Wallace/Darwin dispute as presented by Flannery shows a metaphysical clash of worldviews coextensive with modern evolutionary theory itself—design and purpose versus randomness and chance. This book is for anyone seeking to understand the historical and philosophical roots of a controversy that still rages today. This book contains an abridgement of Alfred Russel Wallace's The World of Life and Reverend John Magens Mello's essay, “The Mystery of Life and Mind.” Michael A. Flannery is Professor Emeritus, UAB Libraries, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Professor Flannery has published extensively in medical history and bioethics, winning the prestigious Edward Kremers Award in 2001 for distinguished writing by an American from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, the Murray Gottlieb Prize in history by the Medical Library Association in 2002, and the 2006 Publishers Award of the Archivists and Librarians in the History of Health Sciences. This is his tenth book.

Alfred Russel Wallace

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Publisher : Discovery Inst
ISBN 13 : 9780979014192
Total Pages : 150 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (141 download)

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Book Synopsis Alfred Russel Wallace by : Michael A. Flannery

Download or read book Alfred Russel Wallace written by Michael A. Flannery and published by Discovery Inst. This book was released on 2011 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new biography of the co-discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection and one of the nineteenth century's most intriguing scientists.

Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 454 pages
Book Rating : 4.A/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection by : Alfred Russel Wallace

Download or read book Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection written by Alfred Russel Wallace and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Nature's Prophet

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Publisher : University of Alabama Press
ISBN 13 : 0817319859
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (173 download)

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Book Synopsis Nature's Prophet by : Michael A. Flannery

Download or read book Nature's Prophet written by Michael A. Flannery and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An astute study of Alfred Russel Wallace’s path to natural theology. A spiritualist, libertarian socialist, women’s rights advocate, and critic of Victorian social convention, Alfred Russel Wallace was in every sense a rebel who challenged the emergent scientific certainties of Victorian England by arguing for a natural world imbued with purpose and spiritual significance. Nature’s Prophet:Alfred Russel Wallace and His Evolution from Natural Selection to Natural Theology is a critical reassessment of Wallace’s path to natural theology and counters the dismissive narrative that Wallace’s theistic and sociopolitical positions are not to be taken seriously in the history and philosophy of science. Author Michael A. Flannery provides a cogent and lucid account of a crucial—and often underappreciated—element of Wallace’s evolutionary worldview. As co-discoverer, with Charles Darwin, of the theory of natural selection, Wallace willingly took a backseat to the well-bred, better known scientist. Whereas Darwin held fast to his first published scientific explanations for the development of life on earth, Wallace continued to modify his thinking, refining his argument toward a more controversial metaphysical view which placed him within the highly charged intersection of biology and religion. Despite considerable research into the naturalist’s life and work, Wallace’s own evolution from natural selection to natural theology has been largely unexplored; yet, as Flannery persuasively shows, it is readily demonstrated in his writings from 1843 until his death in 1913. Nature’s Prophet provides a detailed investigation of Wallace’s ideas, showing how, although he independently discovered the mechanism of natural selection, he at the same time came to hold a very different view of evolution from Darwin. Ultimately, Flannery shows, Wallace’s reconsideration of the argument for design yields a more nuanced version of creative and purposeful theistic evolution and represents one of the most innovative contributions of its kind in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, profoundly influencing a later generation of scientists and intellectuals.

In Darwin's Shadow

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780198033813
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis In Darwin's Shadow by : Michael Shermer

Download or read book In Darwin's Shadow written by Michael Shermer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2002-08-15 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Virtually unknown today, Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer of natural selection with Charles Darwin and an eminent scientist who stood out among his Victorian peers as a man of formidable mind and equally outsized personality. Now Michael Shermer rescues Wallace from the shadow of Darwin in this landmark biography. Here we see Wallace as perhaps the greatest naturalist of his age--spending years in remote jungles, collecting astounding quantities of specimens, writing thoughtfully and with bemused detachment at his reception in places where no white man had ever gone. Here, too, is his supple and forceful intelligence at work, grappling with such arcane problems as the bright coloration of caterpillars, or shaping his 1858 paper on natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish (with Wallace) the first paper outlining the theory of evolution. Shermer also shows that Wallace's self-trained intellect, while powerful, also embraced surprisingly naive ideas, such as his deep interest in the study of spiritual manifestations and seances. Shermer shows that the same iconoclastic outlook that led him to overturn scientific orthodoxy as he worked in relative isolation also led him to embrace irrational beliefs, and thus tarnish his reputation. As author of Why People Believe Weird Things and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, Shermer is an authority on why people embrace the irrational. Now he turns his keen judgment and incisive analysis to Wallace's life and his contradictory beliefs, restoring a leading figure in the rise of modern science to his rightful place.

Evolution

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198804369
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (988 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution by : Brian Charlesworth

Download or read book Evolution written by Brian Charlesworth and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is about the central role of evolution in shaping the nature and diversity of the living world. It describes the processes of natural selection, how adaptations arise, and how new species form, as well as summarizing the evidence for evolution

The World of Life

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (334 download)

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Book Synopsis The World of Life by : Alfred Russel Wallace

Download or read book The World of Life written by Alfred Russel Wallace and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Evolution and Character

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ISBN 13 : 9781473329553
Total Pages : 54 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (295 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution and Character by : Alfred Russel Wallace

Download or read book Evolution and Character written by Alfred Russel Wallace and published by . This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This early work by Alfred Russel Wallace was originally published in 1908 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Evolution and Character' is an essay on explaining the key concepts and historical state of evolutionary theory. Alfred Russel Wallace was born on 8th January 1823 in the village of Llanbadoc, in Monmouthshire, Wales. Wallace was inspired by the travelling naturalists of the day and decided to begin his exploration career collecting specimens in the Amazon rainforest. He explored the Rio Negra for four years, making notes on the peoples and languages he encountered as well as the geography, flora, and fauna. While travelling, Wallace refined his thoughts about evolution and in 1858 he outlined his theory of natural selection in an article he sent to Charles Darwin. Wallace made a huge contribution to the natural sciences and he will continue to be remembered as one of the key figures in the development of evolutionary theory.

Social Environment and Moral Progress

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Publisher : London : Cassell
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Social Environment and Moral Progress by : Alfred Russel Wallace

Download or read book Social Environment and Moral Progress written by Alfred Russel Wallace and published by London : Cassell. This book was released on 1913 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Evolution of Beauty

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Publisher : Anchor
ISBN 13 : 0385537220
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (855 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Beauty by : Richard O. Prum

Download or read book The Evolution of Beauty written by Richard O. Prum and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, SMITHSONIAN, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful"—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world. In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature? Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum—reviving Darwin's own views—thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In thirty years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it—is an independent engine of evolutionary change. Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time. The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.

Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection A Series of Essays

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Publisher : Double 9 Books
ISBN 13 : 9789359328461
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (284 download)

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Book Synopsis Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection A Series of Essays by : Russel Wallace Alfred

Download or read book Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection A Series of Essays written by Russel Wallace Alfred and published by Double 9 Books. This book was released on 2023-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Russel Wallace's key work "Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection" is a foundational work. Wallace, a prominent naturalist and Charles Darwin's colleague, made vital contributions to the development of natural selection theory, and this collection of writings is a testimony to his trailblazing views. Wallace provides his views into the mechanisms of evolution and natural selection in a series of articles and papers in the book. He explores several elements of evolutionary biology in these essays, such as the concept of adaptive coloration in animals, species distribution, and the function of sexual selection in evolution. The notion of "Wallace's Line," which delineates the boundary between distinct zoogeographical zones in Southeast Asia, is one of Wallace's most important achievements. This concept has aided our knowledge of how species are dispersed over the world. Wallace's work also includes his opinions on human evolution and the probable impact of natural selection on human mental and moral qualities. In this sense, his theories provoked significant discussions and controversies within the scientific world. "Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection" showcases Alfred Russel Wallace's extraordinary intelligence as well as his pivotal role in developing the discipline of evolutionary biology.

The Evolutionist

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Publisher : Aurora Metro Publications Ltd.
ISBN 13 : 1906582130
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (65 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolutionist by : Avi Sirlin

Download or read book The Evolutionist written by Avi Sirlin and published by Aurora Metro Publications Ltd.. This book was released on 2014-11-04 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is the year 1852, and the origin of species remains a mystery. In a primitive hut in the remote Amazonian jungle, Alfred Wallace, a brilliant young collector of scientific specimens, lies wasted by tropical illness. He does not expect to survive. Healed by a village shaman, Wallace continues his pioneering fieldwork in the Malay archipelago, crystalising his ideas about evolutionary theory, which Charles Darwin had also secretly formulated but was reluctant to publish. In this new novel based on the scientist's extraordinary life, what unfolds is a dramatic tale of money, class, faith and discrimination. Reviews: “Wallace never attained Darwin’s level of fame, perhaps because Wallace’s radical ideas (including his belief in spiritualism) ran contrary to those of the scientific establishment. The Evolutionist brings to life a saga of passion for research, and the sharp divides of money, class, and discrimination. A strongly impressionistic portrait of an undeservedly little-known scientist, The Evolutionist is a raptly compelling read.” Midwest Book Review “Brimful of factual details ... This novel will appeal to any reader interested in... the lives of the intrepid Victorian specimen hunters.” Historical Novel Society “A wide audience beyond the scientifically curious will find this an easy read and come away with a richer understanding of the rigours of early scientific research both in the field and in the halls of established theory.” Professor Gene J. Parola, author The Devil to Pay “An exciting adventure story well told.” Peter Hobson, Shiny New Books “Avi Sirlin has produced an enjoyable and thought-provoking work which should thankfully introduce a remarkable (yet remarkably unknown) scientific giant to a wider audience.” Rodney Munday, sculptor of the Alfred Russel Wallace wall relief in Hertford “A triumph of biographical fiction, an utterly convincing character study of one of the most poignant figures in the history of science. Wallace’s status as social outsider, beside the more established standing of Darwin and his connections with Lyell and Hooker (the latter represented by the fictitious composite character Newcastle), conspired to deprive him of fuller credit for his accomplished work in advancing the controversial new theory, especially as the younger Wallace chose to go through Darwin himself to present his paper first explicating it. The genius of the novel is its convincing immersion in the language of its time, the mid-nineteenth century. Neither dense nor affected, however, the period piece reads as naturally as if its prose were our own. Particularly seamless is the blending of speech by the characters in Wallace’s circle, and the narrative voice portraying the protagonist in third person (Bates and he had a devil of a time squeezing through the narrow channel ... Along the way, the pacing of action, thought and dialogue keeps us engaged in the journey, whether in the muck of the Amazon and jungles of Borneo, or the salons, courtrooms and pubs of London. Sirlin has a deft touch with visual description to complement an unerring taste (A pill of memory stuck in his throat) and ear for authentic language... Sirlin uses his lawyer’s skills to chart the mystery of the origins of Darwin’s famous Origin of Species. While some of the blame for Wallace’s obscurity lies with his self-effacing humility, and some for an accident at sea, and still more for the constricting mindset of established science, the machinations of Darwin and his associates clearly contrived to bring Darwin’s long-simmering theory to the fore. In this drama, however, even these competitors show compassion and respect for Wallace’s acquiescence; and Darwin himself admits: Your essay inspired a clarity of vision that had altogether been precluded by my own cowardice. The Evolutionist works as an entertaining read, as a polished literary gem, and as an authoritative expose of science’s most celebrated coincidence. The thorough research appears as it should in the best historical fiction, to make the world and its characters come truly and convincingly alive.” Howick Gray, author of Hunter’s Daughter [review: Goodreads] About the author: Avi Sirlin grew up in Toronto, Canada. After graduating university with a degree in Biology, he worked in a variety of occupations, including pastry baker, forklift operator and landscaper. He’d already enjoyed fulfilling stints as house painter, taxi driver, hot dog vendor, laboratory technician, grain handler, parking lot attendant and telephone solicitor (for which he deeply apologizes, no matter how desperately he needed his tuition money). Each was interesting work, in its own way, but nonetheless he elected to seek a new career path. When Avi next graduated, he had a law degree. As a new lawyer, he first worked with a large Toronto law firm where, from his 35th floor office window, he could see the silos of Victory Soya Mills and reflect fondly on those days when he’d slugged ninety-pound bags of soybean meal all day. After a couple of years practising labour and employment law, Avi left the firm and founded his own law practice in downtown Toronto, eventually focusing upon immigration and criminal law. Fifteen years went by in a blur. Then Avi decided it was time for a change. Avi now lives in Victoria, British Columbia. Although he still does some legal consulting work, for the past several years he has focused on writing. He has written two screenplays and a novel. He is currently at work on his next novel.

The Origin of Human Races and the Antiquity of Man Deduced From the Theory of "Natural Selection"

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Author :
Publisher : Read Books Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1473362644
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (733 download)

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Book Synopsis The Origin of Human Races and the Antiquity of Man Deduced From the Theory of "Natural Selection" by : Alfred Russel Wallace

Download or read book The Origin of Human Races and the Antiquity of Man Deduced From the Theory of "Natural Selection" written by Alfred Russel Wallace and published by Read Books Ltd. This book was released on 2016-05-25 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This early work by Alfred Russel Wallace was originally published in 1864 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Origin of Human Races and the Antiquity of Man Deduced From the Theory of "Natural Selection"' is an essay on the development of humans and the evolutionary evidence for natural selection. Alfred Russel Wallace was born on 8th January 1823 in the village of Llanbadoc, in Monmouthshire, Wales. Wallace was inspired by the travelling naturalists of the day and decided to begin his exploration career collecting specimens in the Amazon rainforest. He explored the Rio Negra for four years, making notes on the peoples and languages he encountered as well as the geography, flora, and fauna. While travelling, Wallace refined his thoughts about evolution and in 1858 he outlined his theory of natural selection in an article he sent to Charles Darwin. Wallace made a huge contribution to the natural sciences and he will continue to be remembered as one of the key figures in the development of evolutionary theory.

An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022662210X
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (266 download)

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Book Synopsis An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion by : Charles H. Smith

Download or read book An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion written by Charles H. Smith and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-06-20 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) was one of the most famous scientists in the world at the time of his death at the age of ninety, today he is known to many as a kind of “almost-Darwin,” a secondary figure relegated to the footnotes of Darwin’s prodigious insights. But this diminution could hardly be less justified. Research into the life of this brilliant naturalist and social critic continues to produce new insights into his significance to history and his role in helping to shape modern thought. Wallace declared his eight years of exploration in southeast Asia to be “the central and controlling incident” of his life. As 2019 marks one hundred and fifty years since the publication of The Malay Archipelago, Wallace’s canonical work chronicling his epic voyage, this collaborative book gathers an interdisciplinary array of writers to celebrate Wallace’s remarkable life and diverse scholarly accomplishments. Wallace left school at the age of fourteen and was largely self-taught, a voracious curiosity and appetite for learning sustaining him throughout his long life. After years as a surveyor and builder, in 1848 he left Britain to become a professional natural history collector in the Amazon, where he spent four years. Then, in 1854, he departed for the Malay Archipelago. It was on this voyage that he constructed a theory of natural selection similar to the one Charles Darwin was developing, and the two copublished papers on the subject in 1858, some sixteen months before the release of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. But as the contributors to the Companion show, this much-discussed parallel evolution in thought was only one epoch in an extraordinary intellectual life. When Wallace returned to Britain in 1862, he commenced a career of writing on a huge range of subjects extending from evolutionary studies and biogeography to spiritualism and socialism. An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion provides something of a necessary reexamination of the full breadth of Wallace’s thought—an attempt to describe not only the history and present state of our understanding of his work, but also its implications for the future.

More than Nature Needs

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Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674724907
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (249 download)

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Book Synopsis More than Nature Needs by : Derek Bickerton

Download or read book More than Nature Needs written by Derek Bickerton and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-01-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human mind is an unlikely evolutionary adaptation. How did humans acquire cognitive capacities far more powerful than anything a hunting-and-gathering primate needed to survive? Alfred Russel Wallace, co-founder with Darwin of evolutionary theory, saw humans as "divine exceptions" to natural selection. Darwin thought use of language might have shaped our sophisticated brains, but his hypothesis remained an intriguing guess--until now. Combining state-of-the-art research with forty years of writing and thinking about language evolution, Derek Bickerton convincingly resolves a crucial problem that both biology and the cognitive sciences have hitherto ignored or evaded. What evolved first was neither language nor intelligence--merely normal animal communication plus displacement. That was enough to break restrictions on both thought and communication that bound all other animals. The brain self-organized to store and automatically process its new input, words. But words, which are inextricably linked to the concepts they represent, had to be accessible to consciousness. The inevitable consequence was a cognitive engine able to voluntarily merge both thoughts and words into meaningful combinations. Only in a third phase could language emerge, as humans began to tinker with a medium that, when used for communication, was adequate for speakers but suboptimal for hearers. Starting from humankind's remotest past, More than Nature Needs transcends nativist thesis and empiricist antithesis by presenting a revolutionary synthesis--one that instead of merely repeating "nature and nurture" clichés shows specifically and in a principled manner how and why the synthesis came about.