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Structuralism and Adaptationism: Friends? Or foes?
1Centre for Philosophy of the Sciences, School of Philosophy, RSSS, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, ACT, 0200, Australia.
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology
|March 12, 2022
Summary
This review explores the relationship between structuralist and adaptationist evolutionary biology theories. It highlights how developmental biology (evo-devo) can bridge these approaches to understand phenotypic diversification.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo)
- Phenotypic Diversification
Background:
- Historically, phenotypic diversification research is divided into structuralist (developmental constraint, innovation) and adaptationist (natural selection) camps.
- Debates, like the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, often pit these views against each other.
- A nuanced understanding of the interplay between these perspectives is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze structuralism in a novel way, bridging the gap between structuralist and adaptationist evolutionary biology.
- To clarify the value of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) in studying phenotypic diversity.
- To explain how evo-devo relates to other evolutionary biology approaches.
Main Methods:
- A novel analytical framework for structuralism.
- Review and synthesis of existing literature on structuralist and adaptationist approaches.
- Comparative analysis of evo-devo with other evolutionary theories.
Main Results:
- Identifies the 'grey space' between structuralist and adaptationist viewpoints.
- Demonstrates how structuralist and adaptationist approaches can conflict and find common ground.
- Clarifies the specific contributions of evo-devo to understanding phenotypic diversity.
Conclusions:
- A nuanced view of structuralism reveals potential commensurability between seemingly opposed evolutionary theories.
- Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) offers valuable insights into phenotypic diversification.
- This work reframes the relationship between developmental constraints and natural selection in evolutionary biology.
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