Description
Book SynopsisArgues compellingly that nature and nurture are not alternative influences on human development but, rather, developmental products and the developmental processes that produce them. This title shows that what developmental information" does depends on what is already in place and what alternatives are available.
Trade Review“In the tale of the emperor’s new clothes, the small boy’s genius lay in his naive recognition of the great man’s nudity. Oyama has a similar, if more sophisticated genius: she recognizes the subtle manner in which molecular biologists have allowed metaphors to replace explanations. It is no exaggeration to claim that she has resolved the nature-nurture dispute and provided an altogether new vision of the processes of development and evolution.”—Peter Klopfer, Duke University
“The publication of this revised edition of
The Ontogeny of Information is timely and welcome, especially given the current dominance of simplistic views about genetic causation, aided by constant misuse of the ideas of information, coding and programming. Oyama’s classic discussion of these concepts combines patient, subtle dissection with bold and novel moves.
The Ontogeny of Information is a work of brilliant originality and enduring relevance.”—Peter Godfrey-Smith, Stanford University
“This is among the most important books on developmental theory published in the last several decades. It continues to be cited regularly in work from several different disciplines, including developmental biology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and psychology.”—Robert Lickliter, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Table of ContentsForeword / Richard Lewontin
Preface to Second Edition
Preface
Introduction
The Origin and Transmission of Form: The Gene as the Vehicle of Constancy
The Problem of Change
Variability and Ontogenetic Differentiation
Variations on a Theme: Cognitive Metaphors and the Homunculoid Gene
The Ghosts in the Ghost-in-the-Machine Machine
The Ontogeny of Information
Reprise
Prospects
Afterword to Second Edition
Notes
References
Index of Names
Index of Subject
