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Science Philosophy & Social Aspects

Cycles of Contingency

Developmental Systems and Evolution

edited by Susan Oyama, Russell D. Gray & Paul E. Griffiths

Publisher
MIT Press
Initial publish date
Jan 2003
Category
Philosophy & Social Aspects
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780262650632
    Publish Date
    Jan 2003
    List Price
    $54.00

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Description

The nature/nurture debate is not dead. Dichotomous views of development still underlie many fundamental debates in the biological and social sciences. Developmental systems theory (DST) offers a new conceptual framework with which to resolve such debates. DST views ontogeny as contingent cycles of interaction among a varied set of developmental resources, no one of which controls the process. These factors include DNA, cellular and organismic structure, and social and ecological interactions. DST has excited interest from a wide range of researchers, from molecular biologists to anthropologists, because of its ability to integrate evolutionary theory and other disciplines without falling into traditional oppositions.The book provides historical background to DST, recent theoretical findings on the mechanisms of heredity, applications of the DST framework to behavioral development, implications of DST for the philosophy of biology, and critical reactions to DST.

About the authors

Susan Oyama is Professor of Psychology, Emerita, at John Jay College, and at the CUNY Graduate Center, New York City.

Susan Oyama's profile page

Russell D. Gray is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Auckland.

Russell D. Gray's profile page

Paul E. Griffiths is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh.

Paul E. Griffiths' profile page