THE MAKING OF THE EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHESIS.
In the years following the publication of Darwin’s “Evolution of Species” the general concept of evolution was widely accepted. However, Darwin’s specific mechanism, natural selection was soon rejected by the majority of biologists. By the early part of the 20th century, various schools of orthogenesis, saltationism, and neo-Lamarckism dominated the landscape of evolutionary biology. Only a few biologists focused on Natural Selection as the means of evolutionary transformation, and by and large, there was little agreement over the specific components of a comprehensive theory. However, in a short span of time – from the mid 30’s to mid-40’s – a rapid consensus was reached as to a modern theory of evolution. This theory, the “Modern Synthesis” or “Neo-Darwinism”, included a thorough synthesis of genetics, systematics and natural history.
In this course, we will examine the intellectual and historical development of this synthesis. We will look briefly at the state of evolutionary theory in the early part of the 20th century, and then examine the contributions of individuals such as Fisher, Mayr, Huxley, Dobzhansky, Simpson and Stebbins. The course will focus on the original literature, and individual students will trace the intellectual development of one of the founders of the modern synthesis. We will examine why some aspects of biology – genetics, systematics, ecology – were included in the synthesis, while others -- most notably morphology and embryology -- were not. We will trace the “hardening” of the synthesis through the 1960’s. Finally, we will look at some of the controversies of the 1970’s (punctuated equilibrium, group selection, structuralism), to see how they did, and did not, represent departures from this synthesis.
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