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The Price equation and extended inheritance

Helanterä, Heikki and Uller, Tobias LU (2010) In Philosophy and Theory in Biology 2. p.101-101
Abstract
The presence of various mechanisms of non-genetic inheritance is one of the main problems for current evolutionary theory according to several critics. Sufficient empirical and conceptual reasons exist to take this claim seriously, but there is little consensus on the implications of multiple inheritance systems for evolutionary processes. Here we use the Price Equation as a starting point for a discussion of the differences between four recently proposed categories of inheritance systems; genetic, epigenetic, behavioral and symbolic. Specifically, we address how the components of the Price Equation encompass different non-genetic systems of inheritance in an attempt to clarify how the different systems are conceptually related. We... (More)
The presence of various mechanisms of non-genetic inheritance is one of the main problems for current evolutionary theory according to several critics. Sufficient empirical and conceptual reasons exist to take this claim seriously, but there is little consensus on the implications of multiple inheritance systems for evolutionary processes. Here we use the Price Equation as a starting point for a discussion of the differences between four recently proposed categories of inheritance systems; genetic, epigenetic, behavioral and symbolic. Specifically, we address how the components of the Price Equation encompass different non-genetic systems of inheritance in an attempt to clarify how the different systems are conceptually related. We conclude that the four classes of inheritance systems do not form distinct clusters with respect to their effect on the rate and direction of phenotypic change from one generation to the next in the absence or presence of selection. Instead, our analyses suggest that different inheritance systems can share features that are conceptually very similar, but that their implications for adaptive evolution nevertheless differ substantially as a result of differences in their ability to couple selection and inheritance. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Philosophy and Theory in Biology
volume
2
pages
101 - 101
ISSN
1949-0739
DOI
10.3998/ptb.6959004.0002.001
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
3144935a-8304-45ea-aec0-11c851f36f37 (old id 4739084)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:41:02
date last changed
2020-03-11 14:55:06
@article{3144935a-8304-45ea-aec0-11c851f36f37,
  abstract     = {{The presence of various mechanisms of non-genetic inheritance is one of the main problems for current evolutionary theory according to several critics. Sufficient empirical and conceptual reasons exist to take this claim seriously, but there is little consensus on the implications of multiple inheritance systems for evolutionary processes. Here we use the Price Equation as a starting point for a discussion of the differences between four recently proposed categories of inheritance systems; genetic, epigenetic, behavioral and symbolic. Specifically, we address how the components of the Price Equation encompass different non-genetic systems of inheritance in an attempt to clarify how the different systems are conceptually related. We conclude that the four classes of inheritance systems do not form distinct clusters with respect to their effect on the rate and direction of phenotypic change from one generation to the next in the absence or presence of selection. Instead, our analyses suggest that different inheritance systems can share features that are conceptually very similar, but that their implications for adaptive evolution nevertheless differ substantially as a result of differences in their ability to couple selection and inheritance.}},
  author       = {{Helanterä, Heikki and Uller, Tobias}},
  issn         = {{1949-0739}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{101--101}},
  series       = {{Philosophy and Theory in Biology}},
  title        = {{The Price equation and extended inheritance}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/ptb.6959004.0002.001}},
  doi          = {{10.3998/ptb.6959004.0002.001}},
  volume       = {{2}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}