Evolutionary Thinking Research Articles

On Citing Dobzhansky about the Significance of Evolution to Biology.

Evolutionary thinking illuminates biology. Dobzhansky advocated this view in two distinct papers. The earliest paper (1964) is a discussion of the relationship between distinct biological disciplines, and one of the key ideas is that evolution is an integrative principle of biology. The later paper (1973) is a long argument to the effect that evolution makes more sense of the living than some creationist doctrines. The first paper should then be the primary reference for those biologists who cite Dobzhansky to champion among their peers the added value of evolutionary thinking in a specific scientific problem. Here, looking at citation data, we find evidence that this expected referencing practice does not coincide with the actual referencing practice in the scientific literature.

The Analysis of Inequality in the Bretton Woods Institutions

This paper assesses the evolution of thinking, analysis, and discourse about inequality in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund since their inception in 1944, on the basis of bibliometric analysis, a reading of the literature, and personal experience. Whereas the Fund was largely unconcerned with economic inequality until the 2000s but has shown a rapidly growing interest since then, the Bank’s approach has been characterized by ebbs and flows, with five different phases being apparent. The degree of interest in inequality in the two institutions appears to be determined largely by the prevailing intellectual profile of the topic in academic research, particularly in economics, and by ideological shifts in major shareholder countries, propagated downward internally by senior management. Data availability, albeit partly endogenous, also plays a role. Looking ahead, Bank and Fund researchers continue to have an important role to play, despite a much more crowded field in inequality research. I suggest that this role involves holding firm to an emphasis on inequality “at the bottom” and highlight four themes that may deserve special attention.

It is time to move on from homology in comparative biology.

The continued use of the idea of homology is questionable on philosophical and scientific grounds. It is based on the widespread idea that a "homologue" in extant taxa can be "traced back" to a feature in common ancestor. In contrast, Richard Owen, who first used the term in 1846, saw homology (homologue) differently, as "sameness": "the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function." At that point in time, he was not influenced by evolutionary thinking, and more focused on the details and approaches to biological comparison and description. His was a perceptive approach to comparison. This paper argues that the concept of homology no longer plays a useful role in comparative biology. It is a conceptual idea with little or no empirical implications for modern comparisons among phenotypes. Comparative biology now uses formal phylogenetic analysis in which similar features in individuals of two or more taxa are treated as characters on a tree and tested for historical "sameness" in terms of the concept of synapomorphy. If we are to understand the complexities of phenotypic evolution, applying this method to detailed comparative data will be essential. At the same time, a deep understanding of the phenotype and its history will emerge only through the use of multidisciplinary approaches that address historical changes at different hierarchical levels.

Arts-Based Training Program Effectiveness: A Teaching Methodology in an Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program

Arts-based training programs can aid in building observational skills, communication, team building, and leadership through targeted analysis of works of art. Furthermore, arts-based training programs are unique in that they highlight non-technical skills (NTS). The goal of this study was to investigate the extent to which NTS were developed through an arts-based training program among entry-level occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) students. This study used a mixed methodological approach to analyze retrospective data. Quantitative analysis of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) assessment was conducted. Qualitative analysis was completed through analysis of the participants’ reflection papers. Quantitative results (n = 69) from the KIMS show significance (p = 0.011; 0.013), and qualitative analysis (n = 32) resulted in five central themes: evolution of thinking, holistic approach, diverse perspective, lived reality of context, and development of NTS (collaboration, self-awareness, mindful of others, creativity, and effective communication). Quantitative and qualitative findings suggest arts-based training programs can improve students’ ability to reduce their bias through implementation of a mindfulness lens. Results and recommendations from this study can be used as an example for occupational therapy academic programs to implement an evidence-based teaching methodology.

Do Species Want to Evolve?

Darwinism, in all its various forms, seeks to explain evolution without the intervention of intelligence, purposefulness or intentionality: in short, via the abolition of purpose. Yet life is arguably a profoundly purposeful phenomenon, most evident in the phenomenon of adaptation. Modern Darwinism fails because it has no coherent theory of adaptation, and hence no coherent theory of life. Without this, it cannot claim to be a coherent theory of evolution. Here, I argue that a coherent theory of evolution will arrive when the inherent purposefulness of life can be reincorporated into our evolutionary thinking. Life’s fundamental property of homeo-stasis, coupled with the expanding conception of hereditary memo-ry emerging from epigenetics and niche construction theory, can credibly restore purpose to our thinking about evolution. The evolution of lineages will no longer then be under the control of natural selection, but rather imbued with striving and intentionality: with “wanting” to evolve.

Філософія бізнесу як міждисциплінарна освітня компонента

The article presents structural-functional analysis for the socio-practical potential of such educational component as philosophy of business, as well as research the degree of its impact on evolution of strategic thinking abilities, progress of creative potential, values and attitudes of students. Therefore, in the text of the article is outlined the author’s structure of the analyzed educa­tional component, that is relevant for socio-economic sphere of contemporary Ukraine and, at the same time, one that will motivate younger generation to apply cross-disciplinary knowledge for improving the national business sphere and for making progress in economic culture of Ukrainian society in general. The structure of analyzed educational component must include: studying the philosophy of business problem field in the context of game theory; analysis of business ontological specifics as well as related risks and success criteria; de­scription the philosophical aspects of branding and business-leadership; analy­sis of such phenomena connection as capital, property and wealth; determining the basics of culture, ethics and social responsibility of business, its role in the structure of social institutions; and also studying of such instruments for strate­gic thinking evolution as theory of game Go and 36 ancient Chinese stratagems; and, finally, a detection of essential transformations for business-processes in conditions of digitalization and active artificial intelligence development. So we consider that socio-creative manifestations of that educational discipline should be analyzed, first of all, on three main levels: economic, administrative law and culturological. Article proves that in each of these professional educa­tional areas, philosophy of business, as separate educational component, pro­vides specific functional effects, significantly supplementing and improving cur­ricula with additional knowledge and competencies that increases preparation level of modern specialists, creates opportunities for their better understanding of business practical value for national and global economies.

Stakeholder Orientation and Organizational Adaptation

This paper examines the conditions under which stakeholder orientation facilitates (or hinders) firms’ efforts to adapt to environmental disruptions, particularly technological shocks. To do so, we apply evolutionary economics to develop a theoretical framework on how variation, selection, and retention processes might differ in firms with a high vs. a low level of stakeholder orientation and how these differences can positively or negatively influence their adaptive capacity. We subsequently apply this reasoning to develop theory regarding four boundary conditions of the effectiveness of stakeholder orientation as an adaptation mechanism: two of these conditions are related to characteristics of the technological disruptions, and two are organizational characteristics. The proposed model offers a first application of evolutionary thinking to explain the dynamic fit between stakeholder orientation and organizational adaptive responses, under conditions of environmental (technological) disruption. A research agenda for future scholars in stakeholder theory, organizational evolution, and adaptation to radical change concludes.

The Evolution of Social Darwinism in China, 1895–1930

AbstractThis paper investigates the development of social Darwinism in China from the mid-1890s to 1930 vis-à-vis its ties with social Darwinism in the West, employing a comparative analysis of Spencer, Huxley, and Yan Fu. A form of evolutionism that envisioned a cosmological order based upon strength was transformed into a component of power politics in Republican China, despite unsuccessful political endeavors that illustrated both the triumphs and social malfunctions of evolutionary ideas. From the late 1910s, a new variety of social Darwinism arose alongside the scientific one, reflecting the influence of Kropotkin and de Vries, as Chinese thinkers incorporated non-Anglophone texts. The theories that emerged made sense of the changing Chinese adaptations of evolutionary thinking by contextualizing and modifying them within the intellectual and political dynamics inside China and also in China’s evolving relationship with capitalism and imperialism.

Why hunt? Why gather? Why share? Hadza assessments of foraging and food-sharing motive

Over the last half century, anthropologists have vigorously debated the adaptive motivations underlying food acquisition choices and food-sharing among hunter-gatherer groups. Numerous explanations have been proposed to account for high-levels of generosity in food-sharing, including self- and family-provisioning, reciprocity, tolerated theft and pro-social- or skill-signaling. However, few studies have asked foragers directly and systematically about the motivations underlying their foraging and sharing decisions. We recruited 110 Hadza participants and employed a combination of free-response, yes/no, ranking and forced-choice questions to do just this. In free-response answers, respondents typically gave outcome-oriented accounts of foraging motive (e.g., to get food) and moralistic accounts of sharing motive (e.g., I have a good heart). In ranking tasks, participants gave precedence to reciprocity as a motive for sharing food beyond the household. We found small but clear gender differences in foraging motive, in line with previous predictions: women were more likely than men to rank family-provisioning highly whereas men were more likely than women to rank skill-signaling highly. However, despite these gender differences, the relative importance of different motivations was similar across genders and skill-signaling, sharing and family-provisioning were the most important motivators of foraging activity for both men and women. Contrary to the expectations of tolerated theft, peer complaints and requests for food ranked very low. There are several compelling reasons that evolutionary thinkers, typically interested in ultimate-level adaptive processes, have traditionally eschewed direct and explicit investigations of motive. However, these data may yet provide important insights.

The bad, the abnormal and the inadequate. A new institutionalist perspective for exploring environmental assessment's evolutionary direction

The published Environmental Assessment (EA) literature provides an account of the development of EA over five decades of evolving theory and practice, focussing particularly on how EA works and on how it could improve in the pursuit of (greater) effectiveness. This paper explores the idea that unintended bad, abnormal or inadequate consequences or effects may have occurred during EA's evolution, affecting the way in which it has evolved and the shape and direction of EA's evolutionary path. To assist in this exploration, three concepts are analysed: “mala-effectiveness”, “maladaptation” and “maladjustment”. The focus of the paper then shifts to exploring what might determine EA's evolutionary direction, and the role that unintended bad, abnormal or inadequate effects might play in shaping, constraining or adjusting EA's evolutionary path, loosely drawing on ideas from evolutionary thinking and from new institutionalist debates within planning theory. Building on the analysis of the three concepts and on new institutionalist perspectives, a conceptual framework is then proposed to explore EA's evolutionary direction, acknowledging the role of design and evolution dimensions.

Extending the Explanatory Scope of Evolutionary Theory: The Origination of Historical Kinds in Biology and Culture

Two welcome extensions of evolutionary thinking have come to prominence over the last thirty years: the so-called “extended evolutionary synthesis” (EES) and debate about biological kinds and individuals. These two agendas have, however, remained orthogonal to one another. The EES has mostly restricted itself to widening the explanations of adaptation offered by the preceding “modern evolutionary synthesis” by including additional mechanisms of inheritance and variation; while discussion of biological kinds has turned toward philosophical questions of essential vs. contingent properties of life forms and realist vs. epistemological approaches to categorization and classification. Here we attempt to broaden the explanatory scope of evolutionary theory by linking these two agendas. We expand on the mechanistic orientation of the EES, using new understandings of networked systems of components in order to engage the distinct intellectual challenge of the origination of historical kinds. With this phrase we designate a subset of natural kinds that acquires, through evolutionary processes, a quasi-independent lineage-history. Such kinds emerge in both biology and culture, and we enlarge the limited number of historical kinds that have thus far been recognized in evolutionary biology in a series of paradigmatic exemplars, from genes and cell types to rituals and music. For each exemplar we discern specific mechanisms by which it arose and persists; comparing these, we suggest a general unity in the ways in which diverse historical kinds originate.

Abstract IA-20: The opportunities and challenges of integrating population histories into genetic studies for diverse populations

Abstract Genetic factors, together with other environmental and/or social factors, contribute to the risk of diseases in any population. There is a well-recognized need to be more inclusive of diverse populations in genetic studies, but several obstacles continue to exist, including, but not limited to, the difficulty of recruiting individuals from diverse populations in large numbers and the lack of representation in available genomic references. These obstacles notwithstanding, studying diverse populations would provide informative and population-specific insights important for the healthcare management of a population. As an example of an understudied population, the Native Hawaiians have a unique genetic history that can be leveraged to enhance the design and interpretation of genetic studies. It has been shown that the predominant Polynesian genetic ancestry component in Native Hawaiians is associated with elevated risk of cardiometabolic diseases. This finding is consistent with, though not a proof of, the hypothesis that there exist population-enriched genetic variants underlying the risk of these diseases. At the same time, currently available genomic resources underserve the Native Hawaiians due to a lack of representation, such that genetic variants strongly associated with diseases could not be systematically discovered. Therefore, by developing key genomic resources, integrating evolutionary thinking into genetic epidemiology, and partnering with the community, we will have the opportunity to efficiently advance our knowledge of the genetic risk factors, ameliorate health disparity, and improve healthcare in this underserved population. Citation Format: Charleston Chiang. The opportunities and challenges of integrating population histories into genetic studies for diverse populations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr IA-20.

Developmental Programming, Evolution, and Animal Welfare: A Case for Evolutionary Veterinary Science

ABSTRACT The conditions animals experience during the early developmental stages of their lives can have critical ongoing effects on their future health, welfare, and proper development. In this paper we draw on evolutionary theory to improve our understanding of the processes of developmental programming, particularly Predictive Adaptive Responses (PAR) that serve to match offspring phenotype with predicted future environmental conditions. When these predictions fail, a mismatch occurs between offspring phenotype and the environment, which can have long-lasting health and welfare effects. Examples include metabolic diseases resulting from maternal nutrition and behavioral changes from maternal stress. An understanding of these processes and their evolutionary origins will help in identifying and providing appropriate developmental conditions to optimize offspring welfare. This serves as an example of the benefits of using evolutionary thinking within veterinary science and we suggest that in the same way that evolutionary medicine has helped our understanding of human health, the implementation of evolutionary veterinary science (EvoVetSci) could be a useful way forward for research in animal health and welfare.

Infant Formula: A Personal Journey and an Evolution in Thinking.

Infant Formula: A Personal Journey and an Evolution in Thinking.

Evolutionary physiology at 30+: Has the promise been fulfilled?: Advances in Evolutionary Physiology: Advances in Evolutionary Physiology.

Three decades ago, interactions between evolutionary biology and physiology gave rise to evolutionary physiology. This caused comparative physiologists to improve their research methods by incorporating evolutionary thinking. Simultaneously, evolutionary biologists began focusing more on physiological mechanisms that may help to explain constraints on and trade-offs during microevolutionary processes, as well as macroevolutionary patterns in physiological diversity. Here we argue that evolutionary physiology has yet to reach its full potential, and propose new avenues that may lead to unexpected advances. Viewing physiological adaptations in wild animals as potential solutions to human diseases offers enormous possibilities for biomedicine. New evidence of epigenetic modifications as mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity that regulate physiological traits may also arise in coming years, which may also represent an overlooked enhancer of adaptation via natural selection to explain physiological evolution. Synergistic interactions at these intersections and other areas will lead to a novel understanding of organismal biology.

Safety factors as a 'design' principle of animal form and function: an historical perspective.

For well over 150 years, factors of safety (also known as safety factors) have been a fundamental engineering concept that expresses how much stronger a system is compared with the intended load. The pioneering work of Robert McNeill Alexander in the early 1980s applied this engineering concept to biomechanics. Over the next decade, evidence from comparative biomechanics supported the idea that safety factors are a fundamental principle of animal form and function. In terms of physiology, Jared Diamond related the maximal capacity of a physiological process to normal functional demands and incorporated evolutionary thinking into the concept of safety factors. It was proposed that evolutionary reasoning is required to understand the magnitudes of biological reserve capacities, an idea called 'quantitative evolutionary design'. However, the general idea of safety factors as related to organismal form and function is much older. In 1906, Samuel James Meltzer, a physiologist and physician, presented the 5th Harvey Lecture to the New York Academy of Medicine; a lecture entitled 'The Factors of Safety in Animal Structure and Animal Economy', which was later published in Science in 1907. The 1907 paper is rarely cited and has never been cited within comparative biomechanics or comparative physiology. The purpose of this Commentary is to highlight Meltzer's historical contribution to the concept of safety factors as a general principle of organismal 'design'.

Die Entwicklung des „Steuerstaates“: Ursprung, Aufstieg und Ende eines finanzwirtschaftlichen Fortschrittsparadigmas

Abstract For decades, the Schumpeterian tax state was considered the central paradigm of Fiscal Sociology. However, it increasingly fails to meet many of the conceptual challenges of contemporary public finance. To demonstrate this, the paper undertakes a double re-contextualization of the discourse on public finance. Its development is traced back to evolutionary thinking, which Joseph Schumpeter updated around 1918. However, and following the rise of democratic capitalism after 1945, thinking about the tax state became intertwined with economic control. Its socio-political specifics were marginalized. Since the Great Recession of 2008/2009 and widening fiscal crises in advanced capitalist economies, this discursive narrowing has again become the subject of political and economic controversies.

Putting nature back into secondary biology education: a framework for integration

ABSTRACT In the context of England, secondary biology education is dominated by sub-organismal systems, such as physiology, often to the detriment of evolution & ecology and impeding an integrated understanding of biology. This paper proposes a framework that teachers could use to help them consider how the learning of physiological and developmental systems can be combined with ecological and evolutionary thinking. Thus, keeping a balance between anthropomorphic contexts, and those of nature. The framework has two axes: physio-developmental – ecology, and contemporary – evolutionary, from which four quadrants emerge for consideration during topic design. It is proposed that topic design in general should be centred on the whole organism in its environment, which would ensure that physiological phenomena are contextualised in the organism’s ecology. Furthermore, it is proposed that by pedagogical use of comparative biology, an evolutionary perspective can be integrated with organismal systems and ecology, whilst also offering more opportunities for students to discern the pattern being studied and be exposed to more non-human organisms. The framework is designed for practising teachers and would not require a radical change in pedagogy or teaching resources, but a new way of seeing the content and organisation of the course.

Modern Philosophy and Origen

AbstractThis essay asks in what ways modern (i.e. twentieth‐century) philosophy can either make use of Origen or inform our reading of him. It argues in the first section that the predominantly exegetic method of Origen makes it difficult for analytic philosophy to accommodate his reasoning. In the second section it examines the comparisons drawn by John Lyons between Origen and Teilhard de Chardin, which also suggest affinities with Henri Bergson, but concludes that the disparity between modern evolutionary thinking and Origen’s timeless approach to the truth of scripture is not easily overcome. The rest of the article suggests that it would be more illuminating to note affinities between Origen and modern theorists who pursue their arguments in dialogue with canonical texts. In particular, Origen’s ubiquitous search for Christ in the text of scripture, without clear evidence of authorial intent, might be more intelligible in modern eyes if Christ were seen as a Derridean pharmakos or Girardean scapegoat.

The Evolutionary Dynamics of the Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem

We analyze the sectoral and national systems of firms and institutions that collectively engage in artificial intelligence (AI). Moving beyond the analysis of AI as a general-purpose technology or its particular areas of application, we draw on the evolutionary analysis of sectoral systems and ask, “Who does what?” in AI. We provide a granular view of the complex interdependency patterns that connect developers, manufacturers, and users of AI. We distinguish between AI enablement, AI production, and AI consumption and analyze the emerging patterns of cospecialization between firms and communities. We find that AI provision is characterized by the dominance of a small number of Big Tech firms, whose downstream use of AI (e.g., search, payments, social media) has underpinned much of the recent progress in AI and who also provide the necessary upstream computing power provision (Cloud and Edge). These firms dominate top academic institutions in AI research, further strengthening their position. We find that AI is adopted by and benefits the small percentage of firms that can both digitize and access high-quality data. We consider how the AI sector has evolved differently in the three key geographies—China, the United States, and the European Union—and note that a handful of firms are building global AI ecosystems. Our contribution is to showcase the evolution of evolutionary thinking with AI as a case study: we show the shift from national/sectoral systems to triple-helix/innovation ecosystems and digital platforms. We conclude with the implications of such a broad evolutionary account for theory and practice.