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Book

Everything evolves : why evolution explains more than we think, from proteins to politics

Call Number

  • 576.8 V439 (CEN, OSH)

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Publication Information

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2025]

Physical Description

xiii, 248 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 25 cm

Summary

How the science of evolution explains how everything came to be, from bacteria and blue whales to cell phones, cities, and artificial intelligence Everything Evolves reveals how evolutionary dynamics shape the world as we know it and how we are harnessing the principles of evolution in pursuit of many goals, such as increasing the global food supply and creating artificial intelligence capable of evolving its own solutions to thorny problems. Taking readers on an astonishing journey, Mark Vellend describes how all observable phenomena in the universe can be understood through two sciences. The first is physics. The second is the science of evolvable systems. Vellend shows how this Second Science unifies biology and culture and how evolution gives rise to everything from viruses and giraffes to nation-states, technology, and us. He discusses how the idea of evolution had precedents in areas such as language and economics long before it was made famous by Darwin, and how only by freeing ourselves of the notion that the study of evolution must start with biology can we appreciate the true breadth of evolutionary processes. A sweeping tour of the natural and social sciences, Everything Evolves is an essential introduction to one of the two key pillars to the scientific enterprise and an indispensable guide to understanding some of the most difficult challenges of the Anthropocene.

Contents

  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Setting the stage for the second science. The evolution of evolutionary thinking
  • Evolution at many levels
  • Part II: The second science. Where does new stuff come from, and how is it passed on through time?
  • Selection, "natural" and otherwise
  • Randomness and movement
  • Part III: The second science in action. Harnessing and directing evolution
  • Tipping points and major transitions
  • Diversity and globalization
  • The future of the second science.
  • An Imaginary Scholar
  • The Darwinian Distraction
  • Two Kinds of Science
  • Everything Evolves: The Second Science Is Everywhere.
  • Part I: Setting the Stage for the Second Science. The Evolution of Evolutionary Thinking ; The Deep Roots of Evolutionary Ideas in Biology ; The Deep Roots of Evolutionary Ideas in the Social Sciences ; Biology Since Darwin ; Cultural Evolution Since Darwin ; Lessons from the Evolution of Evolutionary Thinking
  • Evolution at Many Levels ; Evolutionary Systems ; The Evolutionary Soundboard ; Populations, Entities, and Success ; Evolution at Multiple Levels ; The Pragmatic Second Scientist.
  • Part II: The Second Science. Where Does New Stuff Come from, and How Is It Passed on Through Time? ; Variants Are Generated and Inherited in Many Ways ; The Evolutionary Soundboard, Part I: Variation Generation ; The Evolutionary Soundboard, Part II: Inheritance ; Taking Variation and Inheritance Seriously
  • Selection, "Natural" and Otherwise ; Selection: Systematic Differential Success ; The Evolutionary Soundboard, Part III: Differential Success-Selection ; Selection Is Complex . . . but Simple
  • Randomness and Movement ; Drift ; Movement ; Completing the Evolutionary Soundboard.
  • Part III: The Second Science in Action. Harnessing and Directing Evolution ; The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence ; Artificial Life and Genetic Engineering ; Memetic Engineering
  • Tipping Points and Major Transitions ; Balls Roll Downhill ; Ecosystems ; Cultural Norms ; Major Transitions in Evolution over the Long Term ; Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Diversity and Globalization ; What Is Diversity? ; Causes of Diversity ; Geographic Patterns of Diversity ; Diversity Change in the Anthropocene ; Valuing Diversity ; The Consequences of Diversity: Bonus or Penalty?
  • The Future of the Second Science ; Overcoming the Darwinian Distraction ; The Faculty of Evolutionary Sciences ; Choosing to See Commonalities or Differences ; Did the Second Science Come First? ; The Future of the Second Science.

Subjects