Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Oxford University Press, USA (1985), Paperback, 168 pages
Description
This book sets out to do for evolution what Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy did for that subject. Its authors is a leading evolutionary biologist, and unlike many popular books on evolution, it isn't written to prove a particular theory. Instead it reviews the key problems and the main answers to them, in a balanced account which is also authoritative. It will be an invaluable guide to all students of biology, but the clarity of the arguments and the level of writing make it an excellent introduction for general readers as well. Among the concepts and controversies discussed are the nature of heredity, evolution, natural selection, and the existences of species.
Subjects
Original publication date
1985
Physical description
168 p.; 7.5 inches
ISBN
0192891758 / 9780192891754
Local notes
Ridley identifies the key problems with Darwin's theory and looks at some of the answers that have been offered, giving the rival merits of the different theories. He also shows that recent controversial ideas, said to spell the death of Darwinism, are not as revolutionary as they seem, and that Darwinism is flexible enough to withstand reappraisal and adaptation.