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Evo‐devo and “typological thinking”: an exculpation
Author(s) -
Lewens Tim
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of experimental zoology part b: molecular and developmental evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1552-5015
pISSN - 1552-5007
DOI - 10.1002/jez.b.21292
Subject(s) - evolutionary developmental biology , epistemology , biology , evolutionary biology , philosophy
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. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 312B:789–796, 2009 . © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.