Abstract
Throughout the history of life on earth, rare and complex innovations have periodically increased the efficiency with which abiotic free energy and biotic resources are converted to biomass and organismal diversity. Such macroevolutionary expansions have increased the total amount of abiotic free energy utilized by life and shaped the earth’s ecosystems. Meanwhile, Darwin’s theory of natural selection assumes a historical, worldwide state of effective resource limitation, which could not possibly be true if life evolved from one or a few original ancestors. In this paper, I analyze the self-contradiction in Darwin’s theory that comes from viewing the world and universe as effectively resource limited. I then extend evolutionary theory to include a second deterministic evolutionary force,natural reward. Natural reward operates on complex inventions produced by natural selection and is analogous to the reward for innovation in human economic systems. I hypothesize that natural reward, when combined with climate change and extinction, leads to the increased innovativeness, or what I call theadvancement, of life with time. I then discuss applications of the theory of natural reward to the evolution of evolvability, the apparent sudden appearance of new forms in the fossil record, and human economic evolution. I conclude that the theory of natural reward holds promise as an explanation for the historical advancement of life on earth.
Highlights
Charles Darwin, in "The Origin of Species", derived a radical new theory using an analogy between artificial selection and a hypothetical force of nature that he called natural selection (Darwin 1859)
I have briefly summarized a new theory of macroevolution that invokes an alternative deterministic force, natural reward
Crucial to this theory is the assumption that the causes for origin of complex traits may be different from the causes for success, an assumption that I have discussed in the light of recent research
Summary
Charles Darwin, in "The Origin of Species", derived a radical new theory using an analogy between artificial selection and a hypothetical force of nature that he called natural selection (Darwin 1859). Lewontin’s first argument is that resource limitation is unnecessary for organisms to struggle for existence because, as Darwin argued, factors other than limited food (e.g., limited water, parasites, predators) might check populations (see above). Darwin’s reasoning from the struggle for existence justified his application of natural selection to the gradual adaptation of species to their immediate environments and to comparative progress (Box 1). The potential for transient population increase means that those organisms that are first to win the race to innovate are naturally rewarded with an incumbent advantage This suggests the possibility of natural reward as a deterministic force of evolution separate from natural selection. Over vast time frames, which include multiple rounds of invention and expansion (cycles of 103–106 generations), natural reward leads to the success of innovative forms of life, which are better able to explore and discover new resources.
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