Description
Product Description
An accessible introduction to core concepts in evolution for lay readers, which shows that random events have played a critical role in the development of lifeCritical historical events--or "turning points"--have shaped evolution and continue to have a decisive effect on individual lives. This theme is explored and explained in this lucid, accessible book for lay readers. The author argues that, although evolution is the result of unpredictable events, these events have profound influences on subsequent developments. Life is thus a continuous interplay between unforeseeable events and their decisive consequences.As one example, the author cites the fusing of two chromosomes, which differentiated the human species from our closest animal relatives about 4 to 5 million years ago. This event was not predictable, but it had a profound effect on the evolution of our species thereafter. By the same token, certain unpredictable circumstances in the past enabled only Homo sapiens to survive to the present day, though we now know that other human-like species also once existed.The author contrasts such scientific concepts grounded in solid evidence with prevalent misconceptions about life: specifically, the religious notion that there is a plan and purpose behind life, the widespread perception that intelligent design governs the workings of nature, the persistent belief in destiny and fate, and the attribution of an overly deterministic role to genes.This excellent introduction for laypersons to core ideas in biology goes a long way toward dispelling such misconceptions and presents current scientific research in clearly understandable, jargon-free terms.
About the Author
Kostas Kampourakis is the author of
Making Sense of Genes and
Understanding Evolution, as well as the editor of
The Philosophy of Biology: A Companion for Educators and (with R. L. Numbers)
Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science. He is also the editor in chief of the journal
Science & Education and the book series
Science: Philosophy, History and Education. Currently, he is a researcher in science education at the University of Geneva, where he teaches courses at the University Teacher Training Institute and the Section of Biology.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the Introduction
One may have good reasons to worry that the public, broadly construed, holds unscientific views about several aspects of human life. For instance, 42 percent of Americans believe that people are born homosexual, a percentage that has increased significantly since 1977, whereas more than half the people in Canada and Great Britain seem to think the same. It has also been found that approximately one in four people in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain believe that the position of the stars and planets can affect their lives. Finally, polls since 1982 until very recently show that over 40 percent of Americans accept the idea that God has somehow created humans in their present form. There is also academic research suggesting that people tend to perceive evolution as a purposeful process, as well as believe that genes determine our traits and disease. These, and other, findings support the conclusion that unscientific notions are rather widespread, although one should always be cautious about the possible interpretations of research findings about public opinion.
What is common in all these views? One common aspect is the idea of determinism. People think that genes, or something else innate, determine traits, disease, and even behaviors (such as homosexuality), whereas we know that in most cases these are the outcome of complex interaction between genes and environment; people think that the stars determine our lives, even though the stars are too far to have any empirically measurable effect on us; and people think that God determines how we are and look, even though we exhibit so many features that would make any d