Evo-devo and "typological thinking": an exculpation.
Many biologists, historians and philosophers of biology have followed Mayr in rejecting so-called "typological thinking." It should therefore be a cause for concern that modern evolutionary-developmental biology appears committed to various typological notions. This article distinguishes three accusations that have been levelled against the typological thinker. It argues that although there are indeed typological themes within evo-devo, they do not impugn its respectability as a research program. Moreover, an appreciation of the sense in which evo-devo is typological allows us to understand the distinctive contribution evo-devo can make to evolutionary studies.
Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. tml1000@cam.ac.uk
Tim
T
Lewens
D005075:Biological Evolution; D008962:Models, Theoretical