History and philosophy of panbiogeography

Steve Manning sdmanning at ASUB.EDU
Wed May 18 15:48:32 CDT 2005


At 11:17 AM 5/16/2005 -0400, John Grehan wrote:
>For all of you history and philosophy of evolution buffs out there, the 
>following article may be of interest:
>
>
>
>Heads,M.J. (2005) The history and philosophy of panbiogeography. 
>Regionalización Biogeográfica en Iberoamérica y Tópicos Afines (ed. by 
>J.Llorente and J.J.Morrone), pp. 67-123. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de 
>México, México.
>
>
>
>It can be accessed at: http://www.sciencebuff.org/heads_publications.php
>
>
>
>Of course the history and philosophy of panbiogeography has been 
>conveniently overlooked by Darwinian in establishing the hegemony of 
>Darwinian evolution in the popular mind, but at least here is an 
>opportunity to bypass the sieve. For general interest a summary of the 
>article content is excerpted from Heads (2005) as follows:
>
>
>
>I examine the history of panbiogeographic thought from its origins in the 
>pre-Socratic philosopher of ancient Greece through to modern times. Parts 
>of the same ground have been well covered by Llorente et al. (2000, 2001). 
>Main themes include the following:
>
>1. Teleological thinking and writing have no place in biology and have 
>held up progress.
>
>2. Earth and life evolve together.
>
>3. The Scientific Revolution started with sixteenth century biology, not 
>seventeenth century astronomy.
>
>4. Cesalpino was the first true systematist and a major figure in the 
>Scientific Revolution
>
>5. The Scientific Revolution and panbiogeography are branches of the North 
>Italian Renaissance
>
>6. Evolution is not gradual or clock-like
>
>7. Orthogenetic development (phylogenetic constraint by molecular drive) 
>is of primary importance in evolution.

Can you be more specific as to what this really means (relatively 
briefly)?  I have often thought that actually evolution is just one 
energy-driven manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics.  This 
sounds like a similar concept.


>8. Natural selection is of secondary importance, pruning but not creating 
>evolutionary trends.
>
>9. The vicariance/dispersal debate is less about ecology and means of 
>dispersal than about modes of speciation: whether species evolve at a 
>point (Darwin's 'chance dispersal', Mayr's 'founder dispersal' and 
>Hennig's 'speciation by colonization') or over a region (Mayr's 
>dichopatric speciation, Croizat's vicariance).
>
>10. Evolution by vicariance involves neither a center of origin nor 
>migration over a barrier
>
>11. The basic concepts of Mayr, Hennig and modern phylogeographers 
>(teleology, point center of origin, undifferentiated ancestor, progression 
>rule) are derived from Aristotelian logocentrism and German idealism."
>
>
>
>John Grehan
>
>
>
>
>
>Dr. John R. Grehan
>
>Director of Science and Collections
>
>Buffalo Museum of Science1020 Humboldt Parkway
>
>Buffalo, NY 14211-1193
>
>email: jgrehan at sciencebuff.org
>
>Phone: (716) 896-5200 ext 372
>
>
>
>Panbiogeography
>
>http://www.sciencebuff.org/biogeography_and_evolutionary_biology.php
>
>Ghost moth research
>
>http://www.sciencebuff.org/systematics_and_evolution_of_hepialdiae.php
>
>Human evolution and the great apes
>
>http://www.sciencebuff.org/human_origin_and_the_great_apes.php
>
>
>
>

Dr. Steve Manning
Arkansas State University--Beebe
Mathematics and Science
Professor of Biology
P.O. Box 1000
Beebe, AR  72012
Phone: 501-882-8203
Fax: 501-882-4437




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