title: Grand Views of Evolution.
abstract: Despite major advances in evolutionary theories, some aspects of evolution remain neglected: whether evolution: would come to a halt without abiotic change; is unbounded and open-ended; or is progressive and something beyond fitness is maximized. Here, we discuss some models of ecology and evolution and argue that ecological change, resulting in Red Queen dynamics, facilitates (but does not ensure) innovation. We distinguish three forms of open-endedness. In weak open-endedness, novel phenotypes can occur indefinitely. Strong open-endedness requires the continual appearance of evolutionary novelties and/or innovations. Ultimate open-endedness entails an indefinite increase in complexity, which requires unlimited heredity. Open-ended innovation needs exaptations that generate novel niches. This can result in new traits and new rules as the dynamics unfolds, suggesting that evolution is not fully algorithmic.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Conceptual Foundations of Science, Parmenides Foundation, Kirchplatz 1, Pullach 82049, Germany; Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg, Chernel Utca 14, Kőszeg 9730, Hungary.
authors.forename: Harold P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: de Vladar
authors.affiliation: Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Grup de Genòmica, Bioinformàtica i Biologia Evolutiva (GGBE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Center for the Conceptual Foundations of Science, Parmenides Foundation, Kirchplatz 1, Pullach 82049, Germany; Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg, Chernel Utca 14, Kőszeg 9730, Hungary; MTA-ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, Budapest 1117, Hungary; MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Evolutionary Systems Research Group, Klebelsberg Kuno Utca 3, Tihany 8237, Hungary. Electronic address: szathmary.eors@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eörs
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szathmáry
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D004463:Ecology; D010641:Phenotype