Article ID: CBB161586470

Why flying dogs are rare: A general theory of luck in evolutionary transitions (2015)

unapi

There is a worry that the ‘major transitions in evolution’ represent an arbitrary group of events. This worry is warranted, and we show why. We argue that the transition to a new level of hierarchy necessarily involves a nonselectionist chance process. Thus any unified theory of evolutionary transitions must be more like a general theory of fortuitous luck, rather than a rigid formulation of expected events. We provide a systematic account of evolutionary transitions based on a second-order regularity of chance events, as stipulated by the ZFEL (Zero Force Evolutionary Law). And in doing so, we make evolutionary transitions explainable and predictable, and so not entirely contingent after all.

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Authors & Contributors
Roffé, Ariel Jonathan
Bourrat, Pierrick
Louis, Ard A.
Frezza, Giulia
Conley, Brandon A.
Ceccarelli, David
Concepts
Evolution
Biology
Causality
Philosophy of biology
Stochastic or random processes
Contingency (philosophy)
Time Periods
21st century
20th century
19th century
Ancient
Places
Greece
Great Britain
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