Evolution in Four Dimensions, revised edition: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life

· MIT Press
Ebook
576
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Now updated with the latest research, this pioneering, accessible study argues for a more complex view of evolution—proposing there is more to heredity than just genes.

In this revised edition the widely read Evolution in Four Dimensions, Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb propose that there are four “dimensions” in heredity. These four inheritance systems play a role in evolution which, they argue, can all provide variations upon which natural selection can act:

Genetic
Epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits)
Behavioral
Symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication)

Jablonka and Lamb present a richer, more complex view of evolution than that offered by the gene-based Modern Synthesis, arguing that induced and acquired changes also play a role. Their lucid and accessible text is accompanied by lively drawings, and each chapter ends with a dialogue in which the authors refine their arguments against the vigorous skepticism of the fictional “I.M.” (for Ipcha Mistabra—Aramaic for “the opposite conjecture”).

This revised edition reflects the spate of new discoveries in biology since the book was first published, offering corrections, an updated bibliography, and a substantial new chapter on each of the four dimensions—with special attention to the epigenetic, where there has been an explosion of new research.

About the author

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Marion J. Lamb was Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London, before her retirement. Jablonka and Lamb are also the authors of Epigenetic Inheritance and Evolution

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.