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Lehrman's dictum: Information and explanation in developmental biology
Author(s) -
Griffiths Paul E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21087
Subject(s) - evolutionary developmental biology , cognitive science , developmental genetics , evolutionary neuroscience , developmental biology , evolutionary theory , biological evolution , evolutionary biology , psychology , biology , evolutionary ecology , epistemology , ecology , philosophy , genetics , regulation of gene expression , gene , host (biology)
The integration of concepts from evolutionary developmental biology, such as the homology concept, into developmental psychobiology has great potential. However, evolutionary developmental biology is an attempt to integrate evolutionary and developmental explanation and developmental psychobiology has traditionally been concerned to avoid conflating these two kinds of explanation. This article examines a recent attempt to explain development in terms of “inherited information.” The resulting explanation is an evolutionary explanation of development of a kind typical of evolutionary developmental biology. But its proponent mistakes it for an actual developmental explanation. Any integration of evolutionary developmental biology and developmental psychobiology should pay close attention to longstanding concerns about conflating evolutionary and developmental explanations. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 55: 22–32, 2013.