- Paperback: 290 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press (Jan 1 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0198504241
- ISBN-13: 978-0198504245
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 553 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #812,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
The book is about the ideas, methodology and scope of contemporary palaeobiology, rather than a comprehensive, detailed survey of the factual basis of the subject. It addresses the issue of how on the one hand evolutionary theory is necessary for interpretation of the fossil record, and yet on the other the fossils themselves can contribute to evolutionary theory. This is shown not to be the circular argument between pattern and process sometimes alleged, but a matter of understanding carefully the interrelationship between palaeontological and neontological evidence. The book is organised into two sections. Part 1 consists of four chapters outlining the principles, namely: the nature of the pattern/process relationship, taxonomic methods and the analysis of pattern, evolutionary theory and the analysis of process and the nature of incompleteness of the fossil record and what to do about it. Armed with these principles and methods, Part 2 is devoted to the five central areas of contemporary research in evolutionary palaeobiology. These are: fossils and phylogenetic inference; the mechanism of speciation; taxonomic turnover on the geological time-scale; mass-extinctions; the origin of new higher taxa. In each case the nature of the questions and the relevant kinds of evidence, including such new sources as molecular sequence data and stable isotope ratios where appropriate, are reviewed. The extent to which palaeobiology has, and has not yet, contributed to providing the sought after answers is made clear.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pattern and Process,
By John C. Landon "nemonemini" (New York City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fossils and Evolution (Paperback)
This is a very good and not too technical summary by an expert in the Darwinian field not only of the current state of evolutionary theory, but of the real difficulties, stated with a succinct clarity often absent in other such works. A sort of Neo-Neo-Darwinian Synthesis emerges from the presentation of the complexities of the pattern and process debate, with good treatments of many issues, from cladistics, to punctuated equilibrium, and much else. The book is very clear, and, without parting ways with conventional Darwinism, highlights the complexities of the 'epistemological gap'as revealed in the actual state of our knowledge of the fossil record. As the author notes, there is "no single universally applicable theory of the cause of evolution that all agree explains all aspects of all cases". Such statements are more effective in the Darwin debate than the blank wall of massive denial that attends too many treatments. Very clear, rigorous, and with excellent references. Good book to get one's bearings in a changing field, whatever one's views of evolution.
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5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pattern and Process,
By John C. Landon "nemonemini" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fossils and Evolution (Paperback)
This is a very good and not too technical summary by an expert in the Darwinian field not only of the current state of evolutionary theory, but of the real difficulties, stated with a succinct clarity often absent in other such works. A sort of Neo-Neo-Darwinian Synthesis emerges from the presentation of the complexities of the pattern and process debate, with good treatments of many issues, from cladistics, to punctuated equilibrium, and much else. The book is very clear, and, without parting ways with conventional Darwinism, highlights the complexities of the 'epistemological gap'as revealed in the actual state of our knowledge of the fossil record. As the author notes, there is "no single universally applicable theory of the cause of evolution that all agree explains all aspects of all cases". Such statements are more effective in the Darwin debate than the blank wall of massive denial that attends too many treatments. Very clear, rigorous, and with excellent references. Good book to get one's bearings in a changing field, whatever one's views of evolution.
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