Evolution

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This book offers a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to evolutionary biology, covering its history, philosophy, and latest findings. It begins with major essays that explore key empirical and theoretical questions, such as speciation, adaptation, paleontology, and evolutionary development (evo devo), and concludes with discussions on the social and political implications of evolutionary biology today. The second section features an encyclopedic array of concise entries on influential figures like Aristotle, Linnaeus, Louis Leakey, and Jean Lamarck, as well as notable scientists such as T. H. Huxley, E. O. Wilson, Joseph Felsenstein, and Motoo Kimura. Topics range from altruism and amphibians to evolutionary psychology, the Piltdown Man, the Scopes trial, and social Darwinism. Readers will gain insights into the history and philosophy of evolution, the nuances of the science, and the complex relationships between evolutionary study, religion, philosophy, and society. Released at the beginning of the Darwin Year of 2009, marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species, this volume serves as a fitting tribute to the science that Darwin initiated.